An Aurrigo Auto-Shuttle autonomous small bus will start operation at Teesside International Airport in mid-October. It will transfer passengers between aircraft and the terminal building and is part of a project with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) that will later see introduction of an Auto-DollyTug to move cargo and baggage.
The project will represent the first time that both products are deployed together at a live airport. Aurrigo CEO David Keene MBE notes how the aviation industry “is accelerating its desire to reduce its environmental impact” and that autonomous vehicles such as the Auto-Shuttle give the opportunity to remove carbon from operations and boost efficiency.
Teesside International Airport Managing Director Phil Forster adds that the work will help the node to shape how it moves passengers in the future “and will likely have an impact on the whole aviation industry.”
Mr Keene says that Auto-Shuttle is “a fantastic way of moving passengers or ground staff over short distances on agreed routes,” noting how the lack of a need for a driver can free staff for other duties.
The Auto-Shuttle can also be driven manually. According to the manufacturer, the example at Teesside International Airport will seat eight people. The model is powered by a 30bhp electric motor, can achieve 30mph, and has a range of up to 120 miles, the builder said previously.
Autonomous public transport is of significant interest to TVCA. The authority has previously articulated a desire to test current technology ahead of proposed changes to legislation governing use of autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Funding for the project at Teesside International Airport is from the first round of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. “This approach enables the testing of the technology to take place on a private site and without the need for legislative change,” papers that went before the TVCA Transport Committee on 11 March note.
A similar public transport aspiration for TVCA is the introduction of 15 “autonomous trackless trams” in Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees.
It is envisaged that those will “provide a circular hop-on, hop-off service to key destinations around each of the town centres,” TVCA noted in early 2024. Proven electric autonomous vehicles are envisaged for that work.
