The world’s first autonomous bus service, trialled since May last year, will be ending in early February due to passenger numbers being “too low”.
The 14-mile CAVForth service across the old Forth Road Bridge, from Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife to Edinburgh Park, was launched as a scheduled passenger service by partners Stagecoach, bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, autonomous system provider Fusion Processing Ltd, Edinburgh Napier University and Bristol Robotics Laboratory.
The five single-decker buses, Enviro200AEVs, had a capacity for 10,000 passenger journeys per week. Each bus had 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.
Stagecoach made the announcement as a service update.
“We’re sorry to let you know that the AB1 service, and our autonomous bus demonstration, will come to an end on Friday 14th February 2025,” the announcement reads.
“We are proud to have achieved a world-first with this service, demonstrating the potential for self-driving technology on a real-world registered timetable in East Scotland.
While this was a trial of cutting-edge technology and a new route linking Ferrytoll with Edinburgh Park, passenger numbers have been too low to continue operating the service beyond the project’s end.
We sincerely thank you for your support and custom during this innovative project, it has provided a wealth of learnings that will inform the continued development of autonomous technology in the UK.”
Following the launch of the CAVForth project, the group went on to win the Vehicle of the Year Award at Cars of the Future’s inaugural Self-Driving Industry Awards last year.
Four smaller Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEV buses, fitted with Fusion Processing Ltd’s self-driving technology, are due to be operating in the autonomous Connector project in Cambridge next year.