Autonomous shuttle trials begin in Punggol

With a new phase of autonomous vehicle (AV) community tests launched in Punggol, residents will soon be able to enjoy convenient travel while staying connected to nearby areas. 

Operated by Grab Singapore in partnership with WeRide, the current autonomous fleet consists of 11 AVs — 10 that can seat five passengers each and one that can accommodate up to eight passengers. 

It will serve two of the three designated AV shuttle routes in Punggol, helping residents reach key amenities such as local clinics, markets, eateries, as well as MRT stations and bus interchanges. 

The media were invited to experience the AVs on Monday (Jan 12), which toured the first route covering areas such as Matilda Court, Punggol Clover, Punggol Plaza and Oasis Terraces.

Speaking to the reporters, Grab Singapore head of strategic projects Dennis Wong said that AVs are an important feature of future transportation.

"We see this (as an) important part of the future mobility landscape, and for Grab in particular, I think we do envision that we will will have a hybrid network. Both drivers and AVs in the future," he said.

Wong added that steps are being taken to lay the foundations for this vision, including understanding the operational realities of running AVs on the ground, ensuring they are safe for commuters, and gathering feedback on how people interact with AVs and their service expectations.

"Based on this feedback, we can then guide our staff forward (on) how we expand our future services," he said. 

The second route, which is still in development, will cover areas including Matilda Court, Punggol Clover, One Punggol (Sam Kee LRT), Punggol Northshore and Punggol Coast Mall.

The third designated AV route will be operated by ComfortDelGro and Pony.ai. 

Grab noted that there have been months of preparations with driver training beginning in August 2025 and testing conducted in mid-October 2025. 

Since then, the transport company shared that its AVs have completed thousands of test runs.  

AV safety operator at Grab Singapore Sarah Binte Ahmad shared her experience: "Training is more hands on but we also have the theory portion which we need to pass. We are on the road most of the time  whereby we learn to observe how the AV reacts and behave after which we do manual driving and then how to put it in automode," said the 45-year-old. 

"(After) all the trainings I have gone through so far, amounting to over 100 hours, i realised (the AVs) are very safe." 

The AVs are expected to be officially launched to the public within the next two to three months.

[[nid:725293]]

[email protected]