Smog-hit Paris tests electric driverless minibus, color-codes car licenses

PARIS – In a city hit by chronic pollution and traffic problems, Paris officials are experimenting with a self-driving shuttle linking two train stations in the French capital. Two electric-power EZ10 minibuses, which can carry up to six seated passengers, were put into service Monday and will be tested until early April between the Lyon and Austerlitz stations in Paris. The GPS-guided vehicle is free and will be running seven days a week. "To respond to the pollution emergency in big urban zones it is urgent to innovate with new transportation systems that are more environmentally friendly," said Catherine Baratti-Elbaz, head of the local district where the test is taking place. Jean-Louis Missika, a Paris deputy mayor in charge of innovation, said self-driving vehicles "will change the urban landscape in a spectacular fashion" within the next 20 years.