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‘Driverless’ Fife bus being driven by a human – again – until end of year

The autonomous service is undergoing a system upgrade.

The 'driverless' - or autonomous - bus as it heads over the Forth Road Bridge.
The 'driverless' - or autonomous - bus as it heads over the Forth Road Bridge from Fife. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

A ‘driverless’ Fife bus is being driven by a human – again – until the end of the year.

The autonomous AB1 bus service was launched in May and promised ‘driverless’ travel across the Forth Road Bridge.

Shuttling between Ferrytoll Park and Ride near Inverkeithing and Edinburgh Park, CAV Forth was the UK’s first autonomous bus service.

However, operator Stagecoach has announced a human will drive the bus until at least the start of January due to a system upgrade.

Driverless Fife bus under human control due to system upgrade

In a post shared on X, Stagecoach said: “Our AB1 service is currently being driven by a human while we upgrade the self-driving system.

“We expect autonomous driving to return in the new year.”

It is at least the second time in recent months that the service has had a human driver – after a similar situation in October.

Under its normal ‘driverless’ operation, the buses switch between autonomous and manual driving along the 14-mile journey.

The bus is driven by computer across the Forth Road Bridge, and from the M90 and M8 to the A720 in Edinburgh.

Humans are required to take over at the Ferrytoll Park and Ride and the Edinburgh Park Transport Exchange.

When driving autonomously, a captain and safety driver are on board at all times are are both trained to take over when required.

They keep their hands hovering over the wheel at all times – so that they can take control quickly if something goes wrong.

The bus is guided by a central processing unit that recognises sensors from laser, cameras and radar.

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “Our AB1 service is currently being driven by a human while we upgrade the self-driving system as part of the ongoing trial process.

“We expect autonomous driving to return in the new year.”

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