Transport giant leads first trial of driverless vehicles on public roads in the UK
ByKeith Findlay
An Uber driverless car heads out for a test drive in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Scottish transport giant FirstGroup will lead the first trial of driverless vehicles on public roads in the UK.
Funded by the UK Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, the 30-month project will see autonomous vehicles take to the roads in and around Milton Park, a
large business and science hub near Didcot, in Oxfordshire.
People commuting to the site will be able to connect with self-driving pods from local public transport services. It is hoped that by the end of the trial up to 50% of private vehicle journeys within the business park will switch to using the shared, electric-powered pods.
The trial is being undertaken by a consortium of organisations from different sector backgrounds – headed up by Aberdeen-based FirstGroup – that are investing in driverless vehicles.
John Birtwistle, project lead for FirstGroup, said: “We’re excited to be leading the first mainstream use of autonomous vehicles in the UK.
“It’s a huge step towards tackling the problem of congestion on our roads and enabling the sustainable future development of the business park and, potentially, other similar sites in the future.”
Transport giant leads first trial of driverless vehicles on public roads in the UK
