Scotland will be the arena the world’s first autonomous bus fleet, which will start operating next month near Edinburgh. Five all-electric, autonomous buses will travel the 22.5 km route, including the iconic Fort Bridge, one of the country’s top tourist attractions.

The project called CAVFort financed by the British government and will be operated by Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus operator. The goal of the project is to carry around 10,000 passengers per week and set Scotland as the benchmark for autonomous vehicle technology.

The vehicles are equipped with sensors that allow them to travel on pre-selected roads at speeds up to 80 km/h. The buses will operate at vehicle automation level 4, which means a trained safety driver will be on board, but will not need to touch the controls while the vehicle is offline.

Although the UK government has not yet authorized the use of fully self-driving autonomous vehicles, this new technology is expected to revolutionize the transport industry and bring significant benefits in terms of the safety and efficiency of public transport.

The CAVForth project is funded by the Center for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and implemented in partnership with Innovate UK, with an estimated cost of around £6.1 million (around R$38 million). The amount is part of the UK government’s £100 million Smart Mobility Fund, which aims to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous transport technologies.

With the launch of a fleet of self-driving buses next month, Scotland will become a global leader in autonomous transport technology, marking a milestone in the development of the global transport industry.

Similar ideas around the world

Self-driving buses are not new to the transportation industry. In 2021, Malaga, Spain launched a new autonomous electric bus in a project billed as the first in Europe.

The UK plans to launch the Cambridge Connector project next year, which aims to roll out 13 automated electric vehicles across the city.

Arguably Europe’s largest self-driving car project is ULTIMO, which has a budget of over 55 million euros and will test autonomous public transport services in three European cities: Geneva, Switzerland; Kronach, Germany; and Oslo, Norway.

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Source: Stagecoach

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