From the spring, passengers will be boarding the world’s first operational, fully sized, self-driving bus service in Edinburgh, after the project was awarded a grant of £10.4 million from a total of £81 million in joint UK government and industry support, according to a statement. Project CAVForth II builds on the CAVForth trial initiated in 2019 by the Bristol-based autonomous vehicles technology company Fusion Processing Ltd together with Stagecoach Plc, Alexander Dennis Ltd, Transport Scotland, Napier University and Bristol Robotics Lab.
Alexander Dennis have built five bespoke E200 43-seater buses that will operate across the Forth Road Bridge. CAVForth II extends the initial 19-mile route by another five miles. Carrying up to 10,000 passengers per week, the buses will be operating at AV Level 4, “meaning they have a trained safety driver onboard, but the driver will not be expected to touch the controls whilst the vehicle is in autonomous mode”, explains the company. On its website, Fusion Processing describes CAVForth as “the world’s most ambitious autonomous vehicle pilot”.
CAVForth II is one of seven successful projects around the UK to receive a grant for self-driving transport technology from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles programme. Among the other successful projects is V-CAL from the North East Automotive Alliance, which is rolling out remotely-piloted heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in Sunderland; Project Harlander in Belfast Harbour, where a self-driving shuttle service is being deployed; and Project Cambridge Connector from the Greater Cambridge Partnership, which is trialling self-driving taxis.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said in the statement: “Self-driving vehicles including buses will positively transform people’s everyday lives – making it easier to get around, access vital services and improve regional connectivity.”
