The UK’s first driverless bus service, originally heralded as a breakthrough of global significance, is being withdrawn from service because too few passengers used it.
The autonomous buses, operated by Stagecoach, have been running between Fife and Edinburgh along a 14-mile route over the Forth road bridge since May 2023 to relieve the heavy congestion which can bring traffic to a standstill.
The CAVForth service, a collaboration between Fusion Processing, the coach-building company Alexander Dennis, Napier University in Edinburgh and the Bristol Robotics Lab – a joint venture between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England – was touted as the most ambitious and complex in the world.
Built at an estimated cost of more than £6m, partly funded by the UK government, the fleet of five single-decker buses had the capacity to carry 10,000 passengers a week but needed two crew on board for safety reasons.
In a brief statement, Stagecoach said that actual passenger numbers “did not reach expectations” and suggested this was a delay to the technology’s rollout rather than a setback.
The route is one of Scotland’s busiest commuter journeys, with about 80,000 vehicles a day using the Queensferry crossing, the recently built bridge sitting alongside the 60-year-old bridge used in the pilot project.
The Scottish government has set a target to cut car usage by 20% by 2030 but the latest data shows that is a long way from being achieved.
The campaign group Transform Scotland forecasts cars will travel more than 40bn km a year by 2030, up from 34bn km last year, with a record 3.1m vehicles of all types registered in Scotland in 2022.
Bus usage has grown, however, driven in part by free bus passes for all under-22s and over-60s, though it is still far below pre-pandemic levels. Bus drivers in Scotland have raised concerns about an escalating trend of antisocial behaviour on buses, linked to free bus travel for young people.
In a statement from Stagecoach, the consortium said: “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.
“Although passenger adoption did not meet expectations, the trial has significantly advanced the understanding of the operational and regulatory requirements for autonomous services, delivering what was expected from this demonstrator project.
“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.”
