Self-driving buses?

A new £40m competition to kick-start commercial self-driving services, such as delivery vehicles and passenger shuttles, has been launched by the Government.

Figures show that around 88% of road collisions currently are caused by human error.

The first vehicles to be listed as self-driving in the UK – vehicles approved under the Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) Regulation – could be available for people to purchase, lease or rent later this year. Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and will only be permitted to drive themselves when they have met stringent standards.

Types of self-driving vehicles that could be deployed include delivery vans, passenger buses, shuttles and pods, as well as vehicles that move people and luggage at airports and containers at shipping ports.

Trudy Harrison holds the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Transport: “We know that self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys cleaner, easier and more reliable. But our absolute priority is harnessing the technology to improve road safety".

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/self-driving-buses-shuttles-and-delivery-vans-could-soon-hit-uk-roads-thanks-to-40-million-government-funded-competition

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum