SINGAPORE – Chinese self-driving technology company WeRide and a consortium led by Malaysian bus operator Handal Indah, also known as Causeway Link, are among four companies that have submitted bids to participate in a trial of autonomous public bus services here.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) called a tender in January seeking proposals for the trial, which is slated to start from mid-2026, on two public bus routes – one in Marina Bay and Shenton Way, and the other in one-north in Buona Vista.

The tender, which closed on June 9 and is expected to be awarded by the end of 2025, drew four submissions in total.

Apart from WeRide and the Handal Indah consortium, the other two tenderers are vehicle distributor Cycle & Carriage Automotive and another consortium led by MKX Technologies.

According to business records, MKX Technologies was incorporated in Singapore in April and has two shareholders.

The majority owner is X Star Technology, a Singapore subsidiary of Chinese online vehicle financing company Yixin Group, and the minority owner is MK.X, a Japanese electric car-sharing company.

Government procurement website GeBiz did not state the other companies that make up the Handal Indah and MKX Technologies consortiums.

The Straits Times has contacted WeRide, Handal Indah, Cycle & Carriage and X Star Technology for comment.

LTA previously said that it will start the trial by buying six autonomous buses with at least 16 seats and deploying them on bus services 400 and 191. This is so the authority can assess the feasibility of self-driving technology for public bus services and gain operational insights.

Former transport minister Chee Hong Tat had said that the use of autonomous vehicles would help to address pressing manpower challenges in the public transport sector, where it has been difficult to hire drivers.

LTA’s plan is for the autonomous public buses to operate alongside existing manned buses for an initial three-year period. Depending on how they perform, LTA may buy up to 14 more autonomous buses to expand the trial to two more routes later.

LTA said it chose to trial the self-driving buses on services 400 and 191 because they are shorter and simpler routes. The authority is also taking a phased approach so it can thoroughly assess the reliability of autonomous v...