Stagecoach East Scotland will launch its five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV autonomous buses into passenger-carrying service on the CAVForth project from 15 May.
It follows successful registration of the service that will see the Enviro200AV fleet cover a 14-mile routes between Ferrytoll park-and-ride site in Fife and Edinburgh Park transport interchange. That will involve them running at up to 50mph across the Forth Road Bridge, observing what the operator says will be “a frequent timetable” and delivering capacity for up to 10,000 passenger journeys per week.
Two staff members will be aboard the buses when they are in service. A safety driver will be in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology and a ‘captain’ will be in the passenger area to check tickets and answer questions.
Driver training is currently underway, with 20 staff members to complete the course in preparation for May’s launch.
Stagecoach UK Managing Director Carla Stockton-Jones says: “We are excited to introduce the UK’s first autonomous bus fleet in East Scotland, which is also home to our headquarters and where it all began [for Stagecoach] over 40 years ago.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of transport innovation with this project that marks a significant milestone for public transport, and we look forward to welcoming our customers onboard in the coming months.”
A collaboration of partners including Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Fusion Processing, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and Bristol Robotics Lab is delivering the CAVForth project.
“Our Enviro200AV autonomous buses will demonstrate the latest innovation in vehicle technology, and we are delighted that passengers travelling between Fife and Edinburgh will be able to experience this for themselves when the service launches next month,” says Alexander Dennis Head of Concepts and Advanced Engineering Jamie Wilson.
In February, the parties involved announced that a further stage of the CAVForth project – CAVForth2 – will later see the existing route lengthened to serve Dunfermline, adding more complex driving scenarios. The work will involve the creation of an autonomous version of the battery-electric Enviro100EV – the Enviro100AEV – by Alexander Dennis.
