The ParkShuttle is an electrically-driven, autonomous shuttle service that runs between Kralingse Zoom metro station in Rotterdam to the Rivium business park in Capelle aan den IJssel.
Parkshuttle is owned by the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area (MRDH) and operated by the Connexxion bus company.
It is double-lane throughout except for a bridge over the N210 "Abraham van Rijckevorselweg" highway and an underpass below the A16 motorway to connect to the railway station.
Outside rush hours, the shuttle runs on demand with passengers pressing a button at the station to summon a vehicle.
The system, a hybrid between a personal rapid transit and an automated people mover, works like a horizontal elevator.
The vehicles are fully automatic and follow a virtual route where their positions are checked based on artificial reference points (in the form of small magnets in the road surface).
The service was free of charge to use until the end of 2011, due to the lack of ticket machines and validators (later replaced by OV-chipcard readers) along with supervisors.
[7] On 1 December 2006 ParkShuttle II was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
During the period of April 2011 to December 2011, the system was out of service due to the construction of a parking garage at the Kralingse Zoom station.
The Metropolitan region Rotterdam-The Hague and the municipality of Capelle aan den IJssel undertook major maintenance on the existing ParkShuttle lane at the beginning of 2017.
In 2019 the vehicles were due to be replaced and the route extended to the Nieuwe Maas waterway, where passengers can change to the Waterbus at the Van Brienenoordbrug stop.
[9] The new vehicles are lighter than before, have air-conditioning and can drive in two directions which means the turning loops at the termini are no longer needed.