The UK’S First Autonomous bus Service, AB1, Launches in Scotland

The UK’s first autonomous bus service, AB1, has begun operating for passengers in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is believed to be the first registered bus service in the world to use full sized autonomous buses. 

AB1 is run by CAVForth, a collaborative project, comprising of Fusion Processing Ltd, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, Bristol Robotics Lab, and the University of the West of England.

It is part-funded by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). 

The trial, which will now run until 2025, aims to demonstrate autonomous technology in a real-world environment transporting up to 10,000 passengers per week.

During this time, the partners will make improvements and monitor the benefits for passengers, operations and society. 

A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will cover the new 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the Forth Road Bridge. 

The service will have two members of staff on board: a Safety Driver in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology, and a ‘Captain’ in the saloon to take tickets and answer customers questions.

Alexander Dennis President & Managing Director, Paul Davies, says: “Our participation in this exciting project is testament to the great expertise of our engineering team, who continue to lead technology development for tomorrow’s mobility. We believe that automated driving systems like the one we are trialling in CAVForth will further improve safety by reducing reaction times, as well as offering the ability to drive buses in a more efficient manner by optimising acceleration and deceleration to deliver significant energy savings and reduced wear and tear on the vehicle. We look forward to gaining further experience through CAVForth and continuing to develop this promising technology for our customers.” 

Jim Hutchinson, CEO, Fusion Processing, adds: "CAVForth is an exciting showcase of how our CAVstar® Automated Drive System can safely operate in a very complex driving environment. This pilot is globally significant and marks a step change in the operation of autonomous commercial vehicles on public roads.”

Stagecoach is one of Britain's leading public transport businesses.