New livery revealed for UK’s first full-sized autonomous bus service
Developed in partnership with Stagecoach, Fusion Processing and Transport Scotland, Alexander Dennis has revealed the first images of a new special livery for the autonomous buses which will be launched in Scotland next year.
The CAVForth trial will see full-size autonomous buses running on UK roads for the first time next year. The new service will be made up of four ADL Enviro200 single-deck buses running a 14-mile route crossing the Forth Road Bridge. The route will carry up to 10,000 passengers a week, connecting Ferrytoll park & ride in Fife with the Edinburgh Park transport hub.
The four Enviro200s, which will feature the new livery, are currently being fitted out with sensor and control technology developed and supplied by project lead, Fusion Processing, that allows them to become computer-driven. The vehicles are also going through a number of virtual and track tests to ensure all systems are functioning as expected before on-road testing begins later this year.
The livery acknowledges the project partners: Stagecoach, Fusion Processing, ADL, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, Bristol Robotics Lab, University of the West of England, as well as the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles as funding partner.
Scottish minister for transport Graeme Dey says: “This is another welcome step forward for the incredibly exciting Project CAVForth, as we move closer to seeing it go live next year.”
Sam Greer, regional director, Stagecoach in Scotland, says: “We are all very excited to be marking the next major milestone in our autonomous bus project. The new service will provide a bus link between Fife and Edinburgh Park which currently does not exist and we hope will encourage more people to ditch the car, skip traffic jams and enjoy a relaxed journey in a dedicated bus lane and with new innovative state of the art technology.”
Paul Davies, ADL president & managing director, adds: “As the UK bus industry’s innovation leader, we are constantly exploring new ways to further increase efficiency and safety. The trial of the UK’s first full-sized autonomous bus service gives us an outstanding opportunity to gain real-world experience.”