Driverless bus without any safety officer approved by LTA to run on Sentosa, 1st in S'pore & Southeast Asia

Autonomous vehicles (AV) are not new in Singapore, as they are already operated and tested with safety personnel on board.

Now, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has given the green light for a fully driverless shuttle bus service in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) without a safety officer on board.

Dubbed the Robobus, the AV is developed by China-based company WeRide, which has autonomous driving permits in Singapore, China, the United Arab Emirates, France, and the United States.

Announcing the news in a Jul. 17 press release, WeRide said this milestone is a first in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Safety trials

The approval comes after a year of extensive testing and safety assessments of the bus's remote operations and on-road performance.

Since June 2024, the Robobus had been operating a fixed 12-minute loop within RWS.

It ran without a steering wheel and pedals, but with a safety officer on board in case of emergencies.

During this trial period, it transported tens of thousands of passengers and completed thousands of autonomous trips with zero incidents, WeRide said.

The company added that the Robobus is equipped with light detection and ranging technology, cameras, and sensors capable of detecting obstacles over 200m away with 360-degree vision.

Future of AVs in Singapore

In late June, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said Singapore can expect to see many AVs in the next five years, including trialling them in Punggol by the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2025.

WeRide looks to be a major player in this move.

The company has a dedicated research and development centre in Singapore to advance AV innovation, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Besides RWS, WeRide has also been testing out their self-driving road sweepers in other parts of the country.

It deployed the Robosweeper at Marina Coastal Drive and the Esplanade with licences from LTA in November 2024, and began trialling it in Jurong Lake Gardens in March 2025.

It plans to strengthen collaborations with LTA and other stakeholders.

Lam Wee Shann, LTA's chief technology office, said the authority will "continue to work closely with companies that seek to deploy AVs to alleviate manpower constraints, increase productivity and enhance transport connectivity".

Top images from WeRide and Singapore Land Authority