Edinburgh passengers are to board what’s being touted as the world’s first fully sized self-driving bus service this spring.

The project was awarded a share of £81 million in joint UK government and industry support for self-driving transport technology.

As one of seven successful projects from around the UK, the self-driving bus service helps to form one of the most advanced set of commercial. self-driving passenger and freight operations anywhere in the world.

Funding provided by the government will be matched by industry, and the Edinburgh project will total to £10.4 million.

Partners include Fusion Processing Ltd, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Edinburgh Napier University, and the University of West of England.

The project will enable Stagecoach to launch what is beleived to be the world’s most complex full-sized automated bus services, running along a 14 mile rout, and build on a pilot project that is nearing completion.

The CAVFourth autonomous bus service route is from Edinburgh Park station across the Fourth Road Bridge and then onto Dunfermline city centre.

The journey was first taken in April 2022.

Currently, the project is being tested and refined from the current ‘Captained’ service with a staff member on board, to eventually sustain future deployments with smaller vehicles which could operate with no staff on board.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “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. 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.”

Self-driving vehicles could revolutionise public transport and passenger travel, especially for those who don’t drive, better connect rural communities and reduce road collisions caused by human error.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Self-driving vehicles including buses will positively transform people’s everyday lives – making it easier to get around, access vital services and improve regional connectivity.”

Forecasts predict that by 2035, 40% of new UK car sales will have self-driving capabilities, with a total market value for connected and automated mobility worth £41.7 billion to the UK. This could create nearly 40,000 skilled jobs in connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology.

Innovate UK Executive Director for Net Zero, Mike Biddle, said: “The Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) sector is of crucial importance to the UK, with the potential to deliver safer, cleaner and more efficient transport systems across a wide range of settings.”

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The government is also committed to introducing legislation that will enable the safe and timely rollout of self driving vehicles on UK roads.

Under a proposed ‘safety ambition’ for self-driving vehicles to be equivalent in safety to a competent and careful human driver, vehicles will need to meet certain standards to be allowed to ‘self-drive’ on the roads throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.

Organisations overseeing self-driving vehicles could face sanctions if standards are not maintained.

With current legislation, individual self-driving cars are set to be legalised by 2025, the timeline for public transportation appears to be accelerating.

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