Driverless buses: Falkirk bus builder ADL supply vehicles for world leading project over Forth Road Bridge route

The vehicles will provide a regular service from Fife to Edinburgh with the launch following one million miles of test runs.

A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will cover the 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the Forth Road Bridge from Ferrytoll Park & Ride in Fife to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange.

The public service will launch this Monday, May 15 and is said to be the world’s first autonomous bus project of this complexity, coming after ten years of research and development.

Scotland’s Transport Minister Kevin Stewart joined CAVForth partners, including Stagecoach, Fusion, Alexander Dennis Ltd and Transport Scotland at the National Control Centre in South Queensferry to mark today’s launch.

AB1 is believed to be the first registered bus service in the world to use full sized autonomous buses and will be able to carry up to 10,000 passengers a week

There will be two members of staff on board each bus: a safety driver in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology, and a captain taking tickets and answering customers questions.

Scottish Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, said: “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. I am excited to see how this technology can help to support our vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system.”

Alexander Dennis president and managing director, Paul Davies, said: “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.”

Ray O’Toole, executive chairman for Stagecoach said: “This is an incredibly exciting time, and we are delighted to see the hard work of all partners involved pay off . We are proud to be at the forefront of transport innovation with this project, marking a significant milestone for public transport and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board from Monday.”

Alexander Dennis president and managing director, Paul Davies, said: “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.”