Driverless bus heads for the highway; ‘Bonney’ to offer rides between Berri and Barmera

With the success of Renmark’s driverless bus trial, it appears that other towns have taken notice. Barmera is especially keen on the idea, with plans underway to implement its own driverless bus by the end of the year. Named ‘Bonney’, the bus will travel from the Berri CBD all the way up to Lake Bonney itself.

With the Old Sturt Highway as the chosen route, slight modifications will have to be made to ensure the safety of Bonney and her passengers, including reducing the highway speed limit to 60km/h, although the bus itself will only reach a maximum speed of 5km/h.

“This is going to revolutionise transport in the Riverland.”

“Never before has a project this ambitious been implemented in the region,” said Barmera mayor Jake Ronney.

“The tourism boom from this will be huge, it’ll be great for the local economy. We’re actually a bit concerned about if we have the facilities to accomodate all these extra visitors, but that’s an issue for another day.”

The project is a coordination between the Barmera council and the Berri council, with each town already starting construction on a mini bus station for Bonney. While the cost of the project is high, both councils have stated that the residents will not mind the rates increase in order to fund it.

Tickets for a one-way trip will cost $30, and passengers can expect a ride time of around two and a half hours.