I travel on the local metro from time to time (the subway), and some lines are driverless now. I learned that only a few lines are self driving in the world, the vast majority still need someone to operate them. It’s interesting to know that the lines here are among the few. The company will also remove the driver cabins, letting the passengers have a clear view on the tunnel.

It’s an interesting concept. It seems futuristic at first; a transportation vehicle that does not need an operator. It’s something Google and Tesla is working on - on the other side of the planet. People living here can only read those achievements in the news. But some of the metro here are fully automated.

It seems futuristic, but it’s actually the other way around. The metro is a closed system, while regular cars are moving in an open one. The tubes are empty, and if not, the whole system can be shut down. Also the metro cars can not really turn. There are switches that determine the course of the cars; basically they are only able to accelerate and decelerate. It has nothing in common with self driving automobiles; an easy program is enough to control them.

Albeit it’s easy, it’s strange that only a few lines are automated yet. Also there are not many plans to sack the drivers in additional lines. Seems like more advanced technology is not a priority for mass transportation firms.