The UK’s first autonomous bus service, hailed as a world-first initiative, is set to be discontinued due to a lack of passenger demand.
Stagecoach has been operating a fleet of self-driving buses on a 14-mile route between Fife and Edinburgh since May 2023 as part of the CAVForth project. Despite its ambition to revolutionize public transport, the service failed to attract enough riders and will officially end in February 2025.
A spokesperson for CAVForth acknowledged the project’s impact, stating, “We are proud to have achieved a world first with our CAVForth autonomous bus service, demonstrating the potential for self-driving technology on a real-world registered timetable in East Scotland.”
The UK’s first driverless bus service, also known as CAVForth, was an ambitious project embarked on to revolutionize public transportation through autonomous technology. The fleet comprised five single-decker buses equipped with advanced sensors and control systems developed by Fusion Processing’s CAVstar.
These buses operated at SAE Level 4 autonomy, meaning they could handle all driving tasks within a predefined route without human intervention. However, for safety and compliance reasons, each bus had a safety driver and a bus captain on board to assist passengers.
The initiative was a collaboration between Fusion Processing Limited, Alexander Dennis, Edinburgh Napier University, and the University of the West of England. The trial provided valuable insights into the operational and regulatory aspects of autonomous transport. However, despite the technological advancements, passenger adoption on the AB1 route fell short of expectations.
CAVForth reaffirmed its commitment to self-driving technology, noting that while this service is ending, the learnings from the project will contribute to future autonomous transport developments in the UK. “The partners remain committed to exploring new opportunities for self-driving technology in other areas across the UK, ensuring that this exciting innovation can play a transformative role in future transport networks.”
