Countdown for the first fleet of autonomous buses in the United Kingdom to start operating. The five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will start rolling in the east of Scotland from May 15. In total, you'll cover a 14-mile (about 22 kilometres) route at a speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) across the iconic Forth Road Bridge, from Ferrytoll Park
The project, called CAVForth, will be the first bus service in the UK capable of using full-size autonomous buses. It will operate with a frequent schedule and will have a capacity for around ten thousand passengers per week, according to details of its promoters.
These autonomous buses will not have a physical driver. According to the promoters of the project, these vehicles will carry an innovative automated driving system (ADS) that combines radar, LiDAR, optical cameras with high-performance processing, and artificial intelligence.
Just two staff members will travel on board: a security driver in the driver's seat to monitor the technology, and a ticket collector and answering customer questions.
The project will go live after Stagecoach, the UK's largest bus and coach operator, has completed fleet trials.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of transportation innovation with this project that marks an important milestone for public transportation and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board in the coming months,” explains the head of Concepts and Advanced Engineering. by Alexander Dennis, Jamie Wilson.
The manager is convinced that the fleet will respond in the best way: “Our Enviro200AV autonomous buses will demonstrate the latest innovation in vehicle technology and we are delighted that passengers traveling between Fife and Edinburgh will be able to experience this for themselves when the service opens. release next month."
Scottish Transport Minister Kevin Stewart says this is "an exciting milestone for this innovative and ambitious project." And he believes that it will place Scotland as a benchmark: “The CAVForth Project is innovative and of global importance. It will really help Scotland establish its credentials on the world stage."
For her part, Carla Stockton-Jones, managing director of Stagecoach in the United Kingdom, assures that they are “excited to present the first fleet of autonomous buses in the United Kingdom in the east of Scotland”.
The CAVForth project is a joint initiative of Fusion Processing Ltd, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and Bristol Robotics Lab, partly funded by the UK Government's Center for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
