French-based transport firm Transdev has been ordered to stop an “unlawful” test of a driverless school bus in Florida by US regulators. The regulator said the firm had not been authorised to transport schoolchildren in Florida, and said the test was “irresponsible” and “inappropriate”.

Transdev said it would stop the test a week early, but believed the pilot met testing requirements, according to the BBC.

However, NHTSA said the test of the EZ10 Generation II driverless shuttle in the Babcock Ranch community in Florida was outside the scope of what the firm had been authorised to do.

“Innovation must not come at the risk of public safety,” Heidi King, NHTSA deputy administrator said in a statement, external on Monday.

“Using a non-compliant test vehicle to transport children is irresponsible, inappropriate, and in direct violation of the terms of Transdev’s approved test project,” she added.

The NHTSA said it had given Transdev permission in March to import the driverless shuttle on a temporary basis for testing and demonstration purposes, but not as a school bus.

The regulator said it had sent a letter to the firm ordering it to “immediately stop transporting schoolchildren” or risk fines, “the voiding of the temporary importation authorisation, and/or the exportation of the vehicle”.

Transdev said it had voluntarily agreed to stop the test and that the “small pilot was operating safely, without any issues, in a highly controlled environment”.

(Pic – Transdev)