Autonomous water taxis are now ferrying passengers to and from some of the many islands of Helsinki’s archipelago. The Finnish trial is the world’s first commercial service using remotely-controlled vessels, although for the test, a licensed captain has to be aboard.
A shortage of captains for the taxis gave a boost to the idea, which is being operated by Callboats, the company selected by the city for the experiment. Helsinki’s transportation officials have been preparing for such a test for several years and gave Callboats a contract last summer.
Rides among the islands with a captain have cost in the range of €50. The city and Callboats estimate that 60-70% of the operating cost goes into captain’s salaries, and they hope to reap the savings and lower the price by having a licensed captain responsible for monitoring and intervening if needed for five boats at a time.
Callboats’ CEO thinks the scheme might even make the service safer: “It is often forgotten that elevators used to have operators until it was learned that autonomous rides were just as safe. Remote captains have better visibility than those on-site. The Callboats water taxi has a large camera on its roof and the captain has a large screen.”
Passengers who need a ride can order the trip through an app, similar to how an Uber is ordered.
