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Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand, in partnership with HMI Technologies, debuted a new driverless vehicle on January 26.

The vehicle, a driverless shuttle, will be used to showcase the safety of driverless technology during a trial expected to last two years. The trial is expected to officially begin in a few weeks.

During the trial, officials hope to use the vehicle to transport passengers from the terminal to where cars are parked, once the technology is deemed safe. The vehicle will initially start off operating on closed roads around the airport.

For Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, who was one of the first people to ride in the vehicle during the initial demonstration on January 26, she believes that driverless vehicles are an inevitability, and it’s better to be prepared for them rather than not.

“Autonomous electric vehicles are part of our future,” Dalziel says via a media release from Christchurch Airport. “They are coming ready or not and I'd rather be ready.”

Dalziel adds, “the significance of attracting this project to Christchurch at this time cannot be over-stated. This is an incredibly exciting time in our history.”

Developed by Navya, which recently has been placing its driverless vehicles in different places across the world for testing, the shuttle is free of a steering wheel, can carry 15 passengers, and has a maximum battery life of 10 hours when fully charged. The vehicle’s top operating speed is just above 30 miles per hour, but during this trial, it is expected to operate no faster than 15 miles per hour.

Other entities that are supporting the testing of the shuttle include the Christchurch City Council, the Ministry of Transport, the NZ Transport Agency and the University of Canterbury.

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