The first self-driving bus in the United Kingdom, developed by a company called Fusion Processing, begins road tests this week, initially without passengers and with a safety driver, on a route of about 22-km near Edinburgh that takes in the 2.5 km-long Forth Road suspension bridge.
The company expects the passengerless road tests to last around two weeks, and a regular service with passengers could start around summer. The trial run is not the first in Europe: that honor belongs to the Spanish city of Malaga, which began to develop an 8-km route between the city center and the port with a 60-seater twelve-meter-long electric bus, also with a safety driver, and fitted with myriad sensors that allow it to operate completely autonomously. Trials have already taken place in other cities, but mostly with minibuses rather than standard-sized buses.
Autonomous driving applied to buses is much less complex than it is for cars: the route and stops are fixed, which reduces the investment in micromapping, directions and signs can be displayed on the road surface — the ride is not fast, and the size and weight of the vehicle gives passengers a greater sense of security. However, while there are already fleets of fully autonomous and driverless cars operating in completely normal traffic conditions in areas of several US, Chinese cities, the application of self-driving technology to buses is taking longer.
Obviously, buses must not only take traffic conditions into account, but also factors such as stopping spaces being occupied, or the additional time that a passenger, for example, with mobility problems, may take to board, sit down or get off the vehicle. Moreover, when applied to passenger transport, the efficiency of the bus or train is difficult to beat, and although the cost of paying drivers is supported by a higher number of passengers, the savings that can be obtained by eliminating them is considerable, and allows continuous operation on high demand routes and at rush hour, giving transport authorities the option of providing free or low-cost travel.
❗️ We have the potential for cleaner, more efficient transportation in our cities that will benefit everyone, so why aren’t we doing more to make it happen?
Author: Maksym Yaryhin
