Mishustin noted that this conference is an excellent opportunity to discuss new trends, exchange experiences, and share the best ideas. Most importantly, the implementation of these solutions will significantly impact the development of the transport sector: logistics will become faster and more cost-effective, and countries will become more independent of foreign technologies.
By 2030, the president set a target: 80% of organizations in key industries should use domestic software. To achieve this, the Russian IT industry is creating worthy products to compete with foreign counterparts, according to URA.RU.
As Pavel Zyuzin, a senior research fellow at the HSE Institute of Transport Economics, explained, once trams and buses begin operating driverless, the problem of personnel shortages will disappear.
Zyuzin is confident that digitalization will radically change public transport. Driverless technologies will play a particularly important role. They will help solve two problems at once: a shortage of drivers and limited operating hours.
In the regions, finding a qualified driver is often a real challenge, as working conditions there are not as attractive as in an office or a store. Driverless buses and trams, however, are a cascade solution: they will provide higher-quality service and, what's more, make transportation available 24/7 by mid-century.
The expert places particular emphasis on rail transport—tramways and the metro. Pilot projects are already underway in Moscow, where driverless trams carry passengers. But scaling this up nationwide will require addressing numerous challenges: properly planning routes, upgrading worn-out infrastructure, and ensuring tram lines connect city centers—something that often simply doesn't exist today.
As for driverless buses, there are challenges—the trams require very precise mapping, as they must strictly follow a predetermined route and not stray. Constantly updating the data is key to success.