Samenvatting

Automated vehicles have reached the level of maturity in which their applicability to address transport needs are being assessed in pilot projects worldwide. It is of increasing importance to assess and share the experiences gained in these projects. This contribution reports about the application of automated vehicles in the city of Appelscha, The Netherlands. Appelscha is part of the municipality of Ooststellingwerf and is challenged with a predicted decline of inhabitants and an already shrinking public transport network. To preserve the regions accessibility, the municipality of Ooststellingwerf started a pilot with electric automated vehicles. The municipality of Ooststellingwerf rented two Easymile EZ10 vehicles. These vehicles drove on a separate cycle lane for six weeks in September and October 2016. This pilot has shown that a pilot is possible with little infrastructural changes. Even though the maximum speed of 15 km/h might suggest that automated vehicles are suitable to share the road with cyclists, the cycle lane in Appelscha was not sufficient due to the width of the cycle lane . Therefore cyclist had to pass the vehicles using the roadside. Extra safety measurements were taken to inform other road users and cyclists about the vehicle that they might cross paths with. Thanks to that no accidents occurred during the pilot. Apart from the non-suitable cycle lane, the idea of using the automated vehicles was positively received by the public.