The UK’s first autonomous bus service, AB1, will begin passenger services across the Forth Road Bridge on Monday (May 15).
A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will cover the 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the bridge from Ferrytoll Park & Ride in Inverkeithing to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange.
The Transport Minister Kevin Stewart was joined at an official launch event at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre by Ray O’Toole, Executive Chairman for Stagecoach, as well as representatives from each of the CAVForth partners.
CAVForth, is a collaborative project, comprising of Fusion Processing Ltd, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, Bristol Robotics Lab, and the University of the West of England. It is part-funded by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).
AB1 is believed to be the first registered bus service in the world to use full sized autonomous buses.
The trial, which will now run until 2025, aims to demonstrate autonomous technology in a real-world environment transporting up to 10,000 passengers per week. During this time, the partners will make improvements and monitor the benefits for passengers, operations and society.
Mr Stewart said: “It is really exciting to see the innovative and ambitious CAVForth Project take to the roads in earnest after all the hard work of the partner organisations involved in bringing this world first to Scotland.
“We want Scotland to continue to be at the forefront in the development of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and the start of this live trial will really help the country establish its credentials on the world stage.
“I am excited to see how this technology can help to support our vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system.”
Mr O’Toole added: “We are proud to be at the forefront of transport innovation with this project, marking a significant milestone for public transport and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board from Monday.”
The service will have two members of staff on board: a Safety Driver in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology, and a ‘Captain’ in the saloon to take tickets and answer customers questions.
The Captain is there to demonstrate what a full-size autonomous bus might feel like in the future, when one member of staff can leave the cab while the computer does the driving, and engage with passengers, much like a conductor would have done.
The recently announced CCAV funding for CAVForth II, sees the project extended to 2025, challenging the partners to extend the route north to Dunfermline City bus station in 2024.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel