February 02, 2023
The government has today confirmed funding for plans to deliver the 'world's first' full-sized, self-driving bus service on a route in Edinburgh, as part of a new £81m programme of investments in autonomous driving projects. The Department for Transport announced the government is to award £42m of funding, which will be matched by industry and is to be shared by seven projects that aim to demonstrate how emerging self-driving public transport and freight services can help cut emissions and reduce the risk of accidents, while also improving connectivity for rural communities. The funding will support the new bus project in Edinburgh, as well as two projects to introduce self-driving and remotely piloted HGVs, initiatives to trial self-driving shuttle buses in Sunderland and Belfast Harbour, plans to establish a £15.2m remote driving control hub to oversee self-driving vehicles in Solihull and Coventry, and a £17.4m project to trial on-demand, self-driving taxis in parts of Cambridge. The bus project will see £10.4m invested in support of bus operator Stagecoach's plans to launch what is believed to be the world's most complex full-sized automated bus service, which will run along a 14 mile route. The project will build on a pilot that is nearing completion and will test and refine the commercial service model, moving from the current 'Captained' service, with a staff member onboard, to future deployments with smaller vehicles which could operate with no staff on board. "In just a few years' time, the business of self-driving vehicles could add tens of billions to our economy and create tens of thousands of jobs across the UK," said Business Secretary Grant Shapps. "This is a massive opportunity to drive forward our priority to grow the economy, which we are determined to seize. The support we are providing today will help our transport and technology pioneers steal a march on the global competition, by turning their bright ideas into market-ready products sooner than anyone else." Transport Secretary Mark Harper predicted that self-driving vehicles would "positively transform people's everyday lives - making it easier to get around, access vital services and improve regional connectivity". "We're supporting and investing in the safe rollout of this incredible technology to help maximise its full potential, while also creating skilled jobs and boosting growth in this important sector," he said. The grants are part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Connected and Automated Mobility programme. They are accompanied by almost £600,000 which is being awarded to four feasibility studies that will look into how self-driving technology could help improve public transport and reduce congestion in Hertfordshire and Essex, parts of Eastern Cambridge, Birmingham and Solihull, and Milton Keynes.