SINGAPORE: The first of three new autonomous shuttle service routes in Punggol will open to the public by the second quarter of 2026, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Saturday (Sep 20).

Grab will operate two routes using autonomous vehicles (AV) developed by AV company WeRide, while ComfortDelGro will operate one route using vehicles by AV company Pony.ai.

The shuttle services will start out with a mix of five to eight-seater vehicles. They will be purple in colour and labelled as an "autonomous shuttle" so road users can easily identify them.

Speaking at the launch of the Autonomous Shuttle Roadshow at Punggol Digital District on Saturday, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Transport Sun Xueling said that Punggol was selected as there is a diverse group of residents with "clear travel patterns that can be better served".

"The shuttles will also help to improve connectivity within our town, including first-mile and last-mile connectivity to key transport nodes," said Ms Sun, who is also a Member of Parliament for Punggol GRC.

She added that the authorities will launch the three routes progressively.

The first route will be operated by Grab and is set to open to the public by the second quarter of next year. The route will connect residents from Matilda Court and Punggol Clover to the polyclinic at Oasis Terraces via Punggol Plaza.

The service will run from 9.30am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, and no pre-booking will be required.

ComfortDelGro will operate the second route, which will connect residents living in Punggol Northshore to Oasis Terraces and Punggol Plaza. Those living at Waterway Sunrise will also be able to reach One Punggol and Punggol Coast Mall.

Grab will operate the last route, which will connect Matilda Court, Punggol Clover and Punggol Northshore residents to One Punggol and Punggol Coast Mall.

LTA said that the autonomous shuttle services will cut travel times via public transport by up to 15 minutes.

Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow, who announced the new services at the roadshow, said that autonomous vehicles are the "next technological breakthrough".

The authorities had started planning for autonomous vehicles in 2013, but technology was "not quite ready" then, he said.

"Now with cheaper sensors, with big data, with AI (artificial intelligence), AVs today have finally become a reality," he said.

Mr Siow, who is also Senior Minister of State for Finance, said that the authorities aim to bring in 10 autonomous vehicles by the end of the year, and around 100 to 150 vehicles by the end of 2026.

Both Ms Sun and Mr Siow highlighted that safety is a key priority.

In theory, AVs should be safer as they are generally "more predictable than human drivers", Mr Siow said.

However, current statistics on AV accidents are from abroad. As such, the authorities will test the AVs in Singapore in a "safe and controlled manner". They will also use AI to understand how they function in Singapore's environment, he said.

Ms Sun said that the vehicles will first go through "rigorous testing and familiarisation" before taking passengers.

The familiarisation process will start from next week and will take one to two months. It will be carried out through a suite of sensors and cameras installed on every vehicle, providing a 360-degree field of vision.

Once this process is completed, members of the community will be invited in stages to board the shuttle service for free to see how it works.

"Then later when we are more confident, when Punggol gives us this confidence, I will take them to Tengah too," Mr Siow said, adding that the authorities hope to get feedback from the public.

First autonomous shuttle service in Punggol to open to public by second quarter of 2026