Self-driving cars begin operation in UK, Tuesday, 16 May 2023, in the first of its trial kind, in today’s Eduonwheels’ Technology in Transportation System Innovation blog post, as computer-driven buses operate on a real route with real passengers navigating through real traffic in Edinburgh Scotland, UK.

According to the NBC media report titled: Gimmick or innovation? Self-driving bus starts taking passengers in U.K. trial, Edinburgh’s new autonomous buses, which began their service Tuesday, “driverless.” where they are staffed by not just one but two transport employees — twice the number required for a conventional bus in Scotland’s bustling capital.

The Innovative Technology Behind the Self-driving Cars

Each bus bristles with 20 sensors, cameras and radar systems, along with a sophisticated satellite-linked global positioning system.

Every 30 minutes, a bus will traverse a 14-mile route that Fusion Processing, the company that innovated the CAVStar autonomous driving system, says includes “a range of complex traffic manoeuvres such as roundabouts, traffic lights, and ‘weaving’ motorway lane changes.”

How the Self-driving Cars Operate

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How Self-driving cars operate: Safety driver Steven Matthew after he switched the bus onto autopilot driving over the Forth Road Bridge at the Queensferry Crossing.Briony Photo Credit: Sowden / NBC News

During the bus operation, the human bus driver drives the bus as usual until he reached a predetermined point. In this case, on Edinburgh’s Forth Road Bridge. A light “ding” is expected to alert the passengers that the driver would switch on the autopilot.

That’s when the human driver, gingerly, would allow his hands to levitate above the steering wheel — still poised at the ready to seize control of the bus from its computerized driver in case of an incident.

From a few feet away, the bus driver still looked like he would be the one driving the bus, but a closer look made it clear his arms weren’t moving along with the steering wheel.

The abiding presence of the driver behind the wheel is reassuring. This bus may need a human driver not to protect humans from flaws in the technology but to backstop the technology against the flaws of human drivers and pedestrians.

Steven Russell, 34, an innovation manager for Stagecoach Scotland, one of Britain’s largest bus operators said, “When the technology is completely signed off and we’re allowed to take the driver out of the cab, he’ll be able to move around the saloon, engage with passengers, check tickets, keep the service successful, that kind of thing”. The company outfitted the fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles with autonomous driver technology.

Benefits of Having the Self-driving Cars

The Self-driving Cars begin operation in UK - An autonomous bus drives across the Forth Road Bridge between Edinburgh and Fife in Scotland. Photo credit: Andy Buchanan / AFP via Getty Images

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Self-driving Cars – The Self-driving Cars begin operation in UK – An autonomous bus drives across the Forth Road Bridge between Edinburgh and Fife in Scotland. Photo credit: Andy Buchanan / AFP via Getty Images

Organizers hope the technology will ultimately reduce human error, leading to decreases in roadway accidents and deaths. And by decreasing the need for human drivers, organizers hope to reduce costs, making bus systems more accessible to smaller towns and cities that can’t afford to offer public transportation.

Another of its benefits is that autonomous driver doesn’t have to check blind spots, nor does it get distracted. The sensors never blink.

The Biggest Disadvantages with the Self-Driving Car

Ram Murthy, 48, a professor in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh who wasn’t directly involved in the bus project, said that the biggest barrier with the self-driving car is dealing with people, especially in an urban environment, where people are making decisions on their own.

Human drivers always “stretch the rules just a little bit so that they can get by and collaborate with each other,” he said. If roads had only autonomous vehicles, the tech would operate almost perfectly, and motor vehicle accidents and deaths would plummet, he added.

Another is public suspicion. Even if human foibles contribute to technological errors in the operation, there is reason for public suspicion.

The Future of the Self-Driving Car

Stagecoach officials and researchers from Fusion Processing, the company that innovated the CAVStar autonomous driving system, acknowledge that even if the bus route is real, the so-called CAVForth bus project is still just a trial.

Fusion Processing and Stagecoach officials say that while the service is still experimental, the buses have hit the road only after extensive testing: They have endured 10 years of research and development and over 1.1 million miles in tests.

If the trial works, organizers hope to roll out similar technology to four other cities across the U.K., perhaps before the end of the year. The companies and government agencies behind the project hope wider adoption could spur the kind of regulatory and legal changes that might eventually realize a truly “driverless” bus route.

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