CAVForth, an autonomous vehicle project funded by the UK government, started on-road testing its new autonomous buses today. Fully autonomous vehicles are years away, but projects like this are laying the groundwork for future services and passenger vehicles to operate without a driver safely.
The test will run for two weeks and see five single-decker buses traversing a 14-mile route. It’s practice for when it’ll eventually ferry passengers between the Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park and Tram interchange. Once the service is up and running for passengers, a single bus will be able to carry up to 36 passengers. The service will have the capacity for over 10,000 passengers a week, and it’s scheduled to go live in late summer.
