View source for CAVForth

{{Short description|Scottish autonomous bus pilot scheme}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{use British English|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox bus line
| logo            = <!-- bus logo (ex: Image_name.png) -->
| logo_width      = <!-- width of bus logo -->
| logo_alt        = <!-- logo image alternate text (only works if logo_width is supplied) -->
| number          = CAVForth
| bgcolor         = <!-- background color for infobox title (hex codes need a '#', i.e. #00ff33 not 00ff33) -->
| subheader       = Connected Autonomous Vehicles
| image           = Stagecoach Autonomous Bus (62003, YX69 NUP) at Edinburgh Park.jpg
| image_width     = 250px
| image_alt       = <!-- alternate text for main image -->
| caption         = CAVForth [[Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV]] on route AB1 in [[Edinburgh Park]] in May 2023
| operator        = [[Stagecoach East Scotland]]
| vehicle         = [[Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV]]
| pvr             = 1
| status          = Active
| open            = {{Start date|2023|05|15| df=y}}
| night           =
| routetype       = [[Park and ride]] <!-- or |  routes = 2 -->
| locale          = [[River Forth]]
| start           = Ferrytoll Park and Ride
| via             = [[Forth Road Bridge]]
| end             = [[Edinburgh Park]]
| length          = {{cvt|14|mi}}
| stops           =
| frequency       = 20 minutes
| day             = Mondays to Sundays
| ridership       =
| dailyridership  =
| annualpatronage =
| timetable_link  = [https://www.cavforth.com/service-route-timetable/ CAVForth timetable]
| notes           = Buses run to [[Self-driving car#SAE classification|SAE Level 4]], meaning a driver does not control the bus but is present in the cab at all times
}}
'''CAVForth''' (Connected Autonomous Vehicles) is a pilot scheme based in eastern Scotland to develop passenger-carrying [[autonomous bus]] services in the United Kingdom. The scheme's first bus route, the AB1 [[park and ride]] service, is operated by [[Stagecoach East Scotland]] at a 20-minute frequency between [[Edinburgh Park]] and the Ferrytoll Park and Ride site via the [[Forth Road Bridge]]. Described by the UK government as being the first full-size public autonomous bus service in the world,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Rachel |date=4 April 2023 |title=Self-driving buses to serve route in Scotland in 'world first' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/self-driving-buses-to-serve-route-in-scotland-in-world-first |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> the service, which commenced public operations on 15 May 2023, uses a fleet of five [[Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV]] diesel [[single-deck bus]]es built to [[Self-driving car#SAE classification|SAE Level 4]] requirements, meaning a driver is present in the bus at all times but does not need to control the bus in regular service.<ref name="BBCApr4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-65175447 |title=Driverless bus service to start in Scotland in 'world first' |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2023 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="ROApr4">{{cite web|last=Deakin |first=Tim |url=https://www.route-one.net/news/cavforth-autonomous-service-to-commence-on-15-may/ |title=CAVForth autonomous service to commence on 15 May |work=routeone |date=4 April 2023 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref>
==Development==
The CAVForth pilot was first announced in November 2018, having secured £4.35&nbsp;million in part funding from the UK Government's Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-46309121 |title=First driverless Edinburgh to Fife bus trial announced |work=BBC News |date=22 November 2018 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> Bus manufacturer [[Alexander Dennis]] constructed an [[Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC]] equipped with radar, optical cameras, [[LiDAR]] and ultrasound sensors to enable self-driving capability, which was subjected to a series of technical trials at [[Stagecoach Manchester]]'s Sharston depot in March 2019. Tests undertaken by the bus involved parking in a designated space, driving around the depot and through the bus wash.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Young |first=Sarah |date=19 March 2019 |title=UK's first driverless bus trialled in Manchester|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/driverless-bus-stagecoach-trial-manchester-technology-sensors-a8829741.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319134058/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/driverless-bus-stagecoach-trial-manchester-technology-sensors-a8829741.html |archive-date=19 March 2019 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Peter |date=26 March 2019|title=Along for the ride |url=https://cbwmagazine.com/along-for-the-ride/ |work=Coach & Bus Week |location=Peterborough |publisher=Emap |access-date=4 April 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=27 March 2019 |title=Stagecoach and ADL begin autonomous bus trial in Manchester |url=https://www.smmt.co.uk/2019/03/stagecoach-and-adl-begin-autonomous-bus-trial-in-manchester/ |access-date=4 April 2023 |website=SMMT |language=en-GB}}</ref> The bus, later rebranded to the Enviro200AV, would be trialled again in [[Glasgow]] at the CAV Scotland conference at the [[SEC Centre]] in November 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last=Eden |first=Tom |date=13 November 2019 |title=Scotland's first self-driving bus tested in Glasgow ahead of launch next year |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotlands-first-self-driving-bus-20876444 |work=Daily Record |location=Glasgow |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50948624 |title=Scotland 'open for business' in pioneering driverless vehicles |work=BBC News |date=30 December 2019 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref>
The CAVForth scheme has been developed with funding from and partnership between bus manufacturer [[Alexander Dennis]], Fusion Processing, the [[Stagecoach Group]], [[Transport Scotland]], the [[Napier University]] and the [[Bristol Robotics Laboratory]].<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |url=https://www.cavforth.com/ |title=Welcome to CAVForth |work=CAVForth |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> The pilot scheme was set to commence passenger-carrying service as early as mid-2020,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Matchett |first1=Conor |last2=Anderson |first2=Joseph |date=30 December 2019 |title=Autonomous buses across the Forth will be open to fare-paying customers in mid-2020 |url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/autonomous-buses-across-the-forth-will-be-open-to-fare-paying-customers-in-mid-2020-1351941 |work=Edinburgh Evening News |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> however delays due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] would see the first trials of five Enviro200AVs limited to {{cvt|50|mph}} along the CAVForth1 route take place over two weeks in April 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alastair |first=Dalton |date=15 June 2021 |title='We don't think the public are ready to trust it just yet', Stagecoach admits over Forth Road Bridge autonomous bus trial |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/public-not-ready-to-trust-autonomous-buses-yet-stagecoach-3274109 |work=The Scotsman |location=Edinburgh |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |url=https://www.route-one.net/news/autonomous-bus-testing-commences-in-scotland/ |title=Full-size autonomous bus testing commences in Scotland |work=routeone |date=25 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> The first passenger-carrying trials of the CAVForth Enviro200AVs would later take place in January 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Peat|first=Chris |url=https://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/first-passengers-board-stagecoach-autonomous-bus/ |title=First passengers board Stagecoach autonomous bus |work=Bus & Coach Buyer |date=23 January 2023 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref>
The CAVForth scheme's first route, numbered AB1, was launched on 11 May 2023 by Scottish [[Minister for Transport (Junior Minister)|Minister for Transport]] [[Kevin Stewart (Scottish politician)|Kevin Stewart]], ahead of the route commencing public operations on 15 May.<ref name="BBCApr4" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Halford |first=Paul |url=https://www.route-one.net/bus/cavforth-autonomous-bus-service-gets-official-launch/ |title=CAVForth autonomous bus service gets official launch |work=routeone |date=11 May 2023 |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> An additional £10.4&nbsp;million of funding was secured for an extension to [[Dunfermline]] named CAVForth2 in February 2023.<ref name="ROCF2">{{cite web|last=Deakin |first=Tim |url=https://www.route-one.net/news/cavforth2-to-grow-autonomous-bus-work-in-scotland/ |title=CAVForth2 to grow autonomous bus work in Scotland |work=routeone |date=1 February 2023 |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref>
==Routes==
===AB1===
Service AB1 is a conventional [[park and ride]] service that operates at a 30-minute frequency 7 days a week between [[Edinburgh Park]] and the Ferrytoll Park and Ride site in [[Fife]] via the [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8]], [[M9 motorway (Scotland)|M9]] and [[M90 motorway (Scotland)|M90 motorway]]s as well as the [[Forth Road Bridge]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Ward |first=Justin |date=9 August 2022 |url=https://ukrlg.ciht.org.uk/uk-rlg-news-listings/globally-significant/ |title='Globally significant' |work=UK Roads Leadership Group |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> with a projected capacity of 10,000 passenger journeys per week on the {{cvt|14|mi}} service. The service commenced operations on 15 May 2023 using a fleet of five Enviro200AVs operated by [[Stagecoach East Scotland]], each crewed by a safety driver in the driver's seat and a 'bus captain' who will assist passengers boarding the service.<ref name="BBCApr4" /><ref name="ROApr4" />
===CAVForth2===
CAVForth2 will serve as an extension of CAVForth1, travelling a distance of {{cvt|20|mi}} between [[Edinburgh Park]] and [[Dunfermline]] via the Forth Road Bridge and the Ferrytoll Park and Ride site. Stagecoach East Scotland plans to install self-driving technology in pre-existing diesel buses for operation on CAVForth2, while an [[Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV|Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEV]] [[battery electric bus|battery electric]] [[midibus]], equipped with the same technology as the larger Enviro200AV, is planned to be used for engineering trials.<ref name="ROCF2" /><ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |url=https://www.transportengineer.org.uk/transport-engineer-news/cavforth2-extends-via-alexander-dennis-1/249978/ |title=CAVForth2 extends via Alexander Dennis |date=13 February 2023 |website=Transport Engineer |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="BusesFeature">{{cite magazine |last=Millar |first=Alan |date=10 June 2023 |issue=820 |pages=28-32 |title=Bridge to the future |url=https://www.keybuses.com/article/bridge-future |magazine=Buses |location=Stamford |publisher=Key Publishing |access-date=5 July 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Portal|Buses}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Autonomous bus trials CAVForth|CAVForth}}
* [https://www.cavforth.com/ CAVForth website]
* [https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/east-scotland/autonomous-bus Stagecoach CAVForth promotional page]
{{Self-driving cars and enabling technologies}}
{{Stagecoach Group}}
[[Category:Bus routes in Scotland]]
[[Category:Bus transport in Scotland]]
[[Category:2023 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Unmanned ground vehicles]]
[[Category:Transport in Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Transport in Fife]]