Cambridge welcomes three autonomous electric buses
The new models will join the fleet of the Connector project, a city-wide at-scale self-driving public transport scheme integrated with the existing bus network.
Three new Enviro100AEV autonomous buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis are now joining the existing automated vehicles, adding to a consortium which includes the operator Stagecoach, IPG Automotive, dRISK and Gamma Energy. Funding and support has come from the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
Cambridge will build on trials already conducted as part of the CAVForth project in Scotland, with the buses adapted and technology tailored to deliver services at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – Europe’s largest centre of medical research and health science.
‘We are delighted to have been chosen to join the Project Connector consortium with our Enviro100AEV autonomous electric bus,’ said Chris Gall, Group Engineering Director at Alexander Dennis. ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to further the development of this technology with our partners as we continue to explore use cases where autonomous buses can improve operational efficiency and add flexibility to transport networks.’
‘For Cambridge to thrive now and in the future, the area needs the infrastructure and mass public transport systems to cope with the demand – autonomous vehicles are one part of this solution,’ added Cllr Elisa Meschini, Chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board. ‘It will be really exciting to see what was once considered to be fanciful science fiction to be out on our roads giving people choice in how they travel so I look forward to seeing how the pilots go.’
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Image: Alexander Dennis