Passengers will board the world’s first full sized, self-driving bus service in Edinburgh from the spring, after it was awarded a share of £81 million in joint UK Government and industry support for self-driving transport technology.
The sum of £42 million in government funding is being matched by a further £42 million from industry.
Project CAVForth 2, being led by Fusion Processing Ltd, will run what is believed to be the world’s most full-sized automated bus service, along a 18-mile route in the Scottish capital. The work, in partnership with Stagecoach and Alexander Dennis, has been awarded £5.2 million by government, matched by industry to a total £10.4 million.
The buses will run on a “Captained basis” with two members on board to monitor the autonomous system and be available to assist passengers. The project will also feature test track-based demonstrations where no safety driver will be on board with a view to assessing passenger experience. A self-driving version of the new Alexander Dennis fully electric Enviro100AEV bus will also be developed.
The project is one of seven successful projects from around the UK.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “In just a few years’ time, the business of self-driving vehicles could add tens of billions to our economy and create tens of thousands of jobs across the UK. This is a massive opportunity to drive forward our priority to grow the economy, which we are determined to seize.
“The support we are providing today will help our transport and technology pioneers steal a march on the global competition, by turning their bright ideas into market-ready products sooner than anyone else.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
