UK’s first self-driving bus takes to the road for tests in Scotland

The UK’s first self-driving bus will be carrying out on-road testing of its self-driving bus from Monday, April 25, in preparation of passengers stepping aboard later this summer.

UK’s first self-driving bus, operated by Stagecoach, will be carrying out on-road testing of the autonomous bus over the next two weeks in preparation for the launch of the CAVForth pilot service in late summer.

The Project CAVForth pilot, which is jointly funded by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and the project partners Fusion, ADL, Stagecoach and Transport Scotland, will see five single-deck autonomous buses operating at SAE Level 4 over the Forth Road Bridge between Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park Train and Tram interchange.

The buses are fitted with Fusion Processing’s ground-breaking sensor and control technology, CAVstar, that enables them to run on pre-selected roads without the safety driver having to intervene or take control.

The buses will provide a service capable of carrying up to 36 passengers over the 14 miles across the bridge, with capacity for over 10,000 passengers a week.

The on-road testing in Scotland follows successful depot-based trials, track testing and virtual simulation where the buses have been put through their paces to fine tune the autonomous drive systems.

Sam Greer, Regional Director for Stagecoach in Scotland, said: “This is a hugely exciting project for Scotland and we are pleased to be starting live testing on roads this week.

“This is a major step forward in our journey to fully launch the UK’s first full-sized autonomous bus service and will provide easy access to a brand-new bus route in the heart of East Scotland.”

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