Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom.
Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as Gloagtrotter, a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Today, it is the largest subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and as of March 2023, the fleet consisted of 1,463 buses.
Stagecoach launched the world’s first full-sized, self-driving public bus service in Fife, Scotland, on May 15, 2023. The service, called CAVForth, operates on a 4.7-kilometer route between Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife and Edinburgh Park station. The buses are equipped with a suite of sensors, including cameras, radar, and lidar, that allow them to navigate autonomously in mixed traffic.
A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will cover the new 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the iconic Forth Road Bridge from Ferrytoll Park & Ride, in Fife to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange.
The service will have two members of staff on board: a Safety Driver in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology, and a ‘Captain’ in the saloon to take tickets and answer customers’ questions. The Captain is there to demonstrate what a full-size autonomous bus might feel like in the future, when one member of staff can leave the cab while the computer does the driving, and engage with passengers, much like a conductor would have done.
According to the Inernet
