We’re in the middle of the Forth Road Bridge when the automated systems controlling the bus decide they’re unhappy and ask the safety driver to take back control. He does so, without any appreciable change in the handling of the bus – which is to say, as we sped over the bridge, I noticed nothing at all.
This is not only the UK’s first autonomous bus operating on a real schedule with actual customers, but, it is believed, the world’s. For the price of a bus ticket, you can hop on at Edinburgh Park on the western edge of the city and ride to Queensferry before crossing the picturesque bridge, admiring the views of the famous Forth Bridge and Inchgarvie.
Forget the hype around driverless cars: autonomous buses are here.
The four-bus fleet began operations in the middle of May, ferrying passengers via a 14-mile route at speeds of up to 50mph across the Forth Road Bridge as well as A-roads, motorways, bus lanes and private land; next year, if all goes well, the route will expand northwards to Dunfermline. The bus will pick up from regular stops, though if the sensors are too subtle an indication, the AB1 route designation and the words “autonomous bus” in massive
