Scotland to Present the World First Self-Driving Bus Service

VIVA – Scotland will present self-driving bus, said to be a world first. Five double-decker buses will travel a 14-mile route from May 15. The bus can carry up to 10,000 passengers every week between Ferytoll Park, Fife ride, train interchange, and Edinburgh Park tram.

Although this bus will use sensors to travel on pre-selected roads at speeds of up to 50 mph, they still need to be operated by two staff members, twice as many as regular buses.

This includes a safety driver’s seat to monitor the technology and a bus caption to help passengers with boarding, buying tickets and queries.

Currently, driverless cars are not legally permitted in the United Kingdom (UK) – and a safety driver is required at all times in all autonomous vehicles, although the government is working on an updated legal and assurance framework.

Stagecoach, the bus operator who is running the service stated the second member of staff would demonstrate what an autonomous service would feel like in the future when the driver can leave the cab.

As the initiative is a trial to see how the technology works, there are no immediate plans to remove the driver from the cab.

Meanwhile, the transportation minister for the Scottish government, Kevin Stewart said the innovative and ambitious project was an “exciting milestone”, which he hoped would help Scotland establish its credentials on the world stage as the country’s road network covers a wide range of environments, which can provide a good testing ground for self-driving vehicles.

“It considered the project to be one of the most complex worldwide, as well as the first registered service in the UK to use full-sized autonomous buses. The UK government said it would be the first full-size, self-driving public bus service in the world.” Minister Stewart stated.

Then, the Stagecoach managing director, Carla Stockton-Jones said the company was “proud to be at the forefront of transport innovation with this project that marks a significant milestone for public transport”.

Alongside six other projects, the Edinburgh bus service was awarded a share of £81m in joint UK government and industry support to speed up the commercialization of self-driving transport technology.

Ministers hope that the vehicles will eventually offer consumers more convenience by making journeys faster and more reliable, as well as improving safety, since 88% of road collisions are currently caused by human error; and sustainability, by encouraging more people to use public transport.

Other cities are also exploring introducing driverless buses, though these are not thought to be as advanced as the project in Edinburgh. In 2025, 45 driverless electric minibusses will be programmed to run for a year in three European cities: Geneva, Switzerland; Kronach, Germany; and Oslo, Norway. There have also been short trials in several cities, including Rome and Seoul.