The UK’s first autonomous bus service has begun taking paying passengers across the Forth Road Bridge after a million miles of test runs.
The vehicles have two members of staff – a safety driver who can take control of the vehicle and a “captain” to sell tickets and provide customer service. The Stagecoach service, from Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange, will operate on a trial basis until 2025 as part of the CAVForth project.
A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV buses will cover a 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the bridge. While buses generally have just one driver, the captain is on board to demonstrate how a full-size autonomous bus could operate in future.
