What a surprise we had in the lovely riverfront town of Renmark, SA. We were enjoying a pizza and coffee sitting outdoors at the Smokehouse Pizza Cafe. We looked up and both said ‘what’s that?’ As a little blue bus went by very slowly. Turns out it was Murray the driverless bus.

Murray is part of a Driverless Bus Trial service in Renmark and Murray runs a select route though the main part of town every 30 minutes. He runs on Tuesday from 10am to 1pm and from Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. The service is free. You just wait at one of the six stops and get on when Murray comes to a stop. The stops all have river themed names:
Cod
Catfish
River
Wave
Yabby
Perch

Murray is an all electric vehicle and, although there is a person on board to explain how Murray works and what the trial is all about, he is completely automatic.

We talked to one of the guys at the stop near the Information Centre as Murray was stopped there picking up some passengers. He said one of the most popular questions they get asked is ‘Can Murray crash?’ The answer is no. He said Murray has even stopped for a butterfly to fly past!