NTRO Buys 15-Seater Autonomous Bus From TIER IV for Australian Trials
TOKYO – October 29, 2026 -- Australia's National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) has bought a 15-seater electric autonomous bus from Japan's TIER IV, opening demonstrations and in-service trials to transport agencies and operators across Australia and New Zealand.
NTRO and TIER IV build on a 2024 collaboration
The two organizations formalized a strategic collaboration in 2024. It combines NTRO's experience running autonomous vehicle trials in the region with TIER IV's record of autonomous bus deployments in Japan. The vehicle runs on an autonomous driving system developed by TIER IV.
NTRO named the bus Rita after Rita Excell. As executive director of the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative, she partnered with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), a precursor of NTRO, on the country's first autonomous vehicle trial with Volvo XC90s in November 2015.