TOKYO – October 29, 2026 -- Australia's National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) has bought a 15-seater electric autonomous bus from Japan's TIER IV, opening demonstrations and in-service trials to transport agencies and operators across Australia and New Zealand.
NTRO and TIER IV build on a 2024 collaboration
The two organizations formalized a strategic collaboration in 2024. It combines NTRO's experience running autonomous vehicle trials in the region with TIER IV's record of autonomous bus deployments in Japan. The vehicle runs on an autonomous driving system developed by TIER IV.
NTRO named the bus Rita after Rita Excell. As executive director of the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative, she partnered with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), a precursor of NTRO, on the country's first autonomous vehicle trial with Volvo XC90s in November 2015.
Track testing precedes public-road trials
NTRO and TIER IV have tested the bus and tuned it for Australian conditions on a dedicated track. The goal is to demonstrate driverless operation and conditional automated driving with a driver present.
NTRO is now offering state transport agencies, bus operators, local councils and airports the chance to experience the bus through demonstrations and in-service public transport trials, including on public roads.
Driver shortage and road safety targets drive the program
The initiative aligns with Australia's National Road Safety Strategy target of zero deaths and serious injuries on roads by 2050. It also addresses a bus driver shortage expected to worsen as many drivers reach retirement age in the late 2020s.
NTRO CEO Michael Caltabiano called the bus a "watershed moment" for local communities. He said NTRO expects autonomous services to be more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable than the current bus fleet. Target uses include transporting elderly people between homes, shops and hospitals, and dedicated school pick-up routes to reduce congestion.
TIER IV founder and CEO Shinpei Kato said the project applies the company's Japanese deployment experience to a new market.