Autonomous bus project welcomes first passengers

The CAVForth self-driving bus project launched its first sched­uled passenger services last month, via a fleet of five Alexan­der Dennis Enviro200AV auton­omous buses, in what was said to be a world first for vehicle autonomy.

The project is being led by vehicle automation spe­cialist Fusion Processing Ltd in cooperation with partners Stagecoach, Transport Scot­land, Alexander Dennis, Edin­burgh Napier University and Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

Co-funding has been re­ceived from the UK govern­ment’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

The fleet is running seven days a week on Stagecoach’s new AB1 route, which sees bus­es depart Ferrytoll Park & Ride in Fife for Edinburgh Park inter­change every 30 minutes. The 14-mile route takes in A-roads, motorways, bus lanes and pri­vate land, as well as a Forth Road Bridge crossing, and in­cludes the need for complex traffic manoeuvres such as at roundabouts and during mo­torway lane changes. The route sees vehicles travel in mixed traffic up to 50mph.

CAVForth operates at the highest level of autonomous vehicle technology currently permissible on public roads, SAE Level 4, which requires the buses to retain a safety driver.

20 ‘autonomous bus profes­sionals’ have been recruited from Stagecoach East Scot­land’s existing driving team; and in support of the project’s research on passenger and public acceptance of auton­omous technology, a second professional will act as the ‘bus captain’, moving around the vehicle and engaging with pas­sengers.

In autonomous services of the future, says Fusion Pro­cessing, a single crew member could leave the cab and fulfil a similar function while the com­puter did the driving.

The vehicles, derived from Alexander Dennis’s standard Enviro200 single decker, de­ploy Fusion Processing’s auton­omous drive system, CAVStar, which utilises data from a suite of sensors including cameras, LiDAR and radar together with artificial intelligence processing.

They also receive information directly from traffic light sys­tems, enabling the vehicles to plan their speed so that they run smoothly from one green light to the next, thereby reducing unnecessary braking and accel­erating – which in turn reduces brake and tyre wear, and associ­ated particulate emissions.

The new AB1 service is said to provides the first direct public transport link between Fife and the business parks and retail outlets at Edinburgh Park, and has capacity for up to 10,000 passengers per week. Normal Stagecoach fares apply.

Jim Hutchinson, Fusion Pro­cessing CEO, said: “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.”

Kevin Stewart, transport minister for the Scottish gov­ernment, was among the first passengers on the service.

“It is really exciting to see the innovative and ambitious CAVForth project take to the roads in earnest after all the hard work of the partner or­ganisations involved in bringing this world first to Scotland,” he said.

“We want Scotland to con­tinue to be at the forefront in the development of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and the start of this live trial will really help the country estab­lish its credentials on the world stage.”