The city of Edinburgh has become home to the UK’s first operational fleet of full-sized driverless buses.
Operated by Stagecoach, these autonomous vehicles navigate the route across the Forth Road Bridge, shuttling passengers from the Ferrytoll park-and-ride in Fife to Edinburgh Park station.
While the buses are labelled as “driverless,” they actually have two staff members on board – one staff member remains seated in the driver’s position, monitoring the technology, while a designated bus captain assists passengers with boarding and ticket purchases.
Stagecoach stated that these five single-decker buses have a combined capacity to accommodate approximately 10,000 passenger journeys per week.
Equipped with advanced sensors, the vehicles are capable of travelling at speeds of up to 50mph on pre-selected roads along the 14-mile route.