Self-driving shuttle buses to launch on key Birmingham transport hub and Solihull route
A fleet of autonomous buses are set to launch on a key route linking a key Birmingham transport hub, the country’s biggest events venue and a business site. The Solihull & Coventry Automated Links Evolution (SCALE) project is expanding and launching a new driverless bus service on a seven kilometre-route (a little over four miles) in Solihull.
The route links Birmingham International railway station, near Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham Business Park. Three electric ‘self-driving shuttles’ will take passengers around the sites as part of an expanding pilot scheme trialling their use.
Solihull became one of the first places in the country in 2021 to test self-driving vehicles on its roads. Now SCALE is looking to test the commercial viability of self-driving operations, wanting more feedback on the passenger experience and operational factors such as insurance and vehicle maintenance.
Read more: Self-driving shuttles coming to Solihull - full route announced
The three shuttles, built by New Zealand-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer Ohmio, are said to be accessible, fully-electric and each can carry up to 20 passengers at a time. They use a ‘sophisticated suite of cameras and sensors to understand their surroundings’.
This allows them to ‘interact with live traffic and move around safely’. During the trial, the shuttles will have a human operator permanently onboard, who will have the ability to take control if required – as the current law requires. Each journey will also be tracked in real-time from Transport for West Midlands’ (TfWM) control centre on Summer Lane.
The route is set to be tested soon with passenger services expected to start along the first section ‘before the end of the year’. The pilot scheme is due to run until the end of March 2025.
The project has been put together by a consortium led by Solihull Council, including both the University of Warwick and Coventry University, TfWM, the NEC, Coventry City Council, Direct Line Group and automated vehicle simulation specialists IPG and dRISK.
Cllr Andy Mackiewicz, Solihull Council’s cabinet member for Climate Change & Planning, said: “Connected Automated Mobility (CAM) technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we get around. We are excited to be leading the way, not just in Solihull, but regionally and across the country, in providing learning on CAM deployments in different settings and scenarios.
“We’ve already carried out a series of successful pathfinder trials here in Solihull, and shown how it is possible to practically and safely start incorporating self-driving vehicles into key parts of our transport infrastructure.
“SCALE represents the next step in this learning and will help develop our understanding around how future commercial passenger services might operate. Taking place across one of the best-connected destinations in the UK and Europe, this new Solihull-based route will join up three key assets within the UK Central Hub area, operating in a busy but controlled environment and gaining further real-world operating experience."
Funding from for the pilot scheme has been provided by the Department for Transport’s Centre for Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).
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Mark Cracknell, programme director at Zenzic, a body established by government and industry to champion UK Connected and Automated Mobility, said: “This is a significant development for SCALE, one of the six successful projects from the CCAV Deployment competition, which form the most advanced set of commercial, self-driving passenger and freight operations anywhere in the world.
“With these investments, the UK is further strengthened and positioned to become one of the world’s leading destinations for the adoption of CAM technology and the delivery of improved transport services.”
While Dean Zabrieszach, Ohmio Global CEO, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for Ohmio as we grow our business in the UK and Europe. We have been involved in numerous trial deployments across the world. However, in the SCALE project, it is evident that our consortium members are eager to progress towards a full-scale transportation service.
“Autonomous electric shuttles like the Ohmio Lift have the capacity to fill a void in current transportation systems by providing first mile and last mile accessibility for our communities. We look forward to working with our partners in delivering a first-class project and look forward to continued opportunities in the UK, where the government is taking a leading role in supporting such projects, and in Europe.”