Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is looking to bring in another operator to the Connector autonomous bus consortium following Stagecoach East’s decision to withdraw from the Innovate UK-funded scheme that will see four driverless vehicles tested in Cambridge.
The first of those – one of three Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEVs – debuted last month and is undergoing track testing ahead of on-street trials which are expected by September. Meanwhile, a Mellor Orion E which has already been used by automated drive system supplier Fusion Processing elsewhere will move to Cambridge.
Other partners include IPG Automotive, dRISK, and Gamma Energy. In December 2024, Stagecoach announced that the CAVForth driverless service from Edinburgh Park to Ferrytoll would not be extended beyond the trial end date of 14 February due to low usage.
A GCP spokesperson says: “Stagecoach Group has confirmed to us that it is refocusing fully on delivering core bus services across the UK and scaling back its involvement in autonomous deployments after March.
“We have been working with consortium partners and the government since this decision to explore options for bringing another operator on board. While this process is ongoing, we remain fully committed to trialling this technology in our region to understand how autonomous vehicles can improve access and connectivity.”
The second phase of the Fife project was to have involved Stagecoach extending the service to Dunfermline. Alexander Dennis has confirmed CAVForth2 testing remains on course and will be carried out with Fusion without the involvement of an operator.
