The world’s first, full-size, self-driving bus will start its public services next month as a pioneering world-first. Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge route will officially launch on the 15th of May and cover a 14-mile journey, from the Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram interchange. Five single-decker autonomous buses are equipped with sensors to travel up to 50 mph, and will be staffed with both a safety driver and a bus captain to provide passenger assistance.
British government-funded Stagecoach is proud to be in the forefront of building public transportation with the ground-breaking scheme. Scotland’s transport minister, Kevin Stewart expressed his pleasure in seeing the project’s success and noted the importance of testing the self-driving buses on the country’s trunk road network.
Carla Stockton-Jones, Stagecoach UK’s managing director expressed her excitement in introducing the UK’s first autonomous bus fleet in Edinburgh, which is their official headquarters and home. She looks forward to serving their customers in the coming months.
This advancement in public transportation technology is an example of the innovative projects within the transport industry. Not only does the project take passenger convenience to the next level, but it also highlights the importance of technology in improving everyday services. It is expected that this ground-breaking service will provide 10,000 weekly passenger journeys, and attract tourists from around the globe.
Project CAVForth will be an exciting breakthrough for transportation technology, and also serves as a benchmark for many projects to come in the next few years.
