FairPrice’s remotely supervised autonomous vehicles to ply on roads

It’s the first time LTA is allowing use of such vehicles on roads for supply chain operations

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan Correspondent

The FairPrice Group, which operates the FairPrice supermarket chain, has received the green light to use autonomous vehicles (AVs) to transport goods on public roads without an accompanying safety vehicle.

This marks the first time the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approved the use of remotely supervised AVs on public roads for supply chain operations.

In a statement on Oct 8, the FairPrice Group said it had partnered with autonomous driving technology company Zelos to begin trials in October 2024. They secured LTA's approval to transition to remote operations in April.

The Zelos Z10 will be used to move goods within and between the FairPrice Group's distribution centres in Benoi and Joo Koon, which are slightly under 2km apart. The group is now conducting trials on a longer route between the two distribution centres and a third centre in Sunview Road about 5.5km away. It has been running daytime trials on public roads, accompanied by a safety vehicle, since August.