As autonomous driving services expand, transport workers such as taxi drivers may face career transitions. ComfortDelGro has set up a new academy to help employees and drivers acquire new skills, preparing them for roles such as autonomous vehicle safety operators, remote operators, fleet supervisors and technicians.
ComfortDelGro Group CEO and Managing Director, Cheng Siak Kian, took part in a panel discussion titled “AV in High Density Cities: From Vision to Reality” at Singapore Urban Mobility Week on Wednesday (4 November). Speaking to local media afterwards, he introduced the newly established Autonomous Vehicle Academy.
Cheng said the group’s experience operating autonomous vehicles in Singapore and China had shown that it needed to train operators to prepare them for future autonomous vehicle deployments. “The AV academy is actually targeted not just at our own workers but eventually for the whole industry, as these workers will be able to work in other AV operators.”
According to a statement, the academy will support the government’s workforce transformation package and career conversion programme for autonomous vehicle professionals, providing training and employment opportunities for workers in the sector.
ComfortDelGro has also signed memorandums of understanding with autonomous driving technology firms MOGOX, Ohmio, UISEE and 2getthere, bus manufacturer Zhongtong Bus, and Singtel. The partnerships will bring together their expertise in transport operations, autonomous driving technology, vehicle manufacturing and communications networks.
ComfortDelGro’s Zig Driverless has completed 10,000 trips in Punggol and is preparing to trial an “on-demand booking” feature. Passengers will be able to book an autonomous vehicle to travel directly between any two existing pick-up and drop-off points, rather than following a fixed route.
FairPrice Group’s Chief Supply Chain and Central Operations Officer, Zeng Qiao Jia, who also took part in the panel discussion, said the group currently operates seven autonomous trucks, making more than 100 trips a week. She stressed that, for safety reasons, the group places great importance on transparency in autonomous vehicle technology and carefully assesses the data collected so it can respond appropriately to safety incidents or near misses.
FairPrice began trialling autonomous trucks within its warehouses in 2024. Last year, it received approval from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to make deliveries between warehouses along designated short routes, with a maximum speed limit of 40 km/h.
The three-day Singapore Urban Mobility Week is jointly organised by LTA, its wholly owned subsidiary MSI Global, and MP Singapore. The panel discussion, moderated by LTA Deputy Chief Executive (Tech) Lam Wee Shann, drew more than 300 attendees.
