UK’s first driverless bus network

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June 2023 News

The UK is rolling out its first driverless bus network in Scotland, with drivers on standby behind the steering wheel ready to take control should an emergency arise. According to the operator, the service, which aims to carry 10 000 passengers a week over a 22 kilometre route on five single-deck buses, will be the world’s first automated local bus service.

“The autonomous technology on this bus has been tested before, but this is the first time that it has been put onto a bus that is now a registered local bus service,” said Peter Stevens, policy director of Stagecoach bus service, after a demonstration near Edinburgh. “The buses, which will travel at up to 80 km/h, will have a safety driver to monitor the technology, as required by UK law, which does not yet permit fully autonomous vehicles.

Drivers do not touch the controls while the vehicle is in autonomous mode, and a conductor onboard handles ticketing and passenger enquiries. The onboard system will detect other road users to prevent collisions, while optical cameras and radar will scan the road to check for pedestrians. The control system includes an artificial intelligence engine that receives information from throughout the bus to determine its exact location and calculate the safest route to its destination.

Stevens said the service would be safer and more fuel efficient, and would offer a better experience for customers. “The driver has now got 360-degree vision, and the system can respond faster than a human can in terms of reaction time.

“There’s always going to be a safety driver in the seat, even when the bus is driving itself, in case there’s a need for them to take control.” Stevens said the buses would be learning the route continually and collecting thousands of hours of data a month and increasing the amount of autonomous travel.

A driverless bus was tested in South Korea’s capital, Seoul last year as part of an experiment aiming to make people feel more comfortable with driverless vehicles on the roads. In 2021 a driverless electric bus began operating in Malaga, Spain, in a project presented as a first in Europe, with Singapore launching a trial of self-driving buses earlier in the year.

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UK’s first driverless bus network

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