The CAVForth buses link Fife and Edinburgh in a world first bus ‘driverless’ service. But what is it actually like to go on?
I never thought I’d be hopping onto a ‘driverless’ bus on a Thursday morning – perks of being the transport correspondent, I suppose?
It was gloriously sunny as I pulled into the Traffic Scotland base in South Queensferry.
After an hour long drive from our office in Dundee, I couldn’t help but be relieved to see the sun still shining.
That morning I’d heard a forecast that warned of foggy conditions around Edinburgh. That didn’t help my nerves one bit.
I mean – what if the bus couldn’t see where it was going, what if we veered over the edge of the Forth Road Bridge like the scene from Final Destination 5? (If you don’t know what I’m on about, don’t look. It will ruin driving over bridges for you for life.)
Having an understanding of the sensor system on the bus didn’t stop me from being nervous to step onto it.
Jokes from colleagues, family and friends hinting that it might be the last time they ever see me didn’t help either.
But I tried to stay calm. There have been heaps of trials for the ‘driverless’ buses – so surely nothing could go wrong. Right?
The atmosphere was abuzz at the Traffic Scotland base in South Queensferry, with other reporters from the likes of CNN and NBC lingering nearby.
It felt like I was in the presence of history in the making.
So how did the trip on the ‘driverless’ bus go?
After all that worrying – and a lack of sleep the night before – the journey was pretty seamless.
Organisers at the launch event kept saying that it would be just like sitting on a normal bus, and I didn’t believe them.
The truth is, they were half right.
It did feel like sitting on a normal bus – but not completely.
What was different? First off, there were all the cameras aimed at the safety driver as the ‘driverless’ made its way across the bridge to Fife.
There was also a foreboding beeping sound that echoed through the bus whenever the autonomous function was about to take over.
But when it did take over? It felt pretty much the same, albeit surreal to be sitting on a bus that wasn’t fully driven by a bus driver.
It was altogether more exciting than it was nerve-wracking. There were no bumps or problems, and certainly no catastrophic crashes like the one in Final Destination 5.
Having the safety driver on board, Callum Jones, who I had chatted to before getting on, really helped ease my nerves too.
He was there, a real human person, ready to take the wheel at the tricky bits, or if the computer didn’t work as expected.
‘Life on Mars’ in sunny Fife?
Bowie’s iconic ‘Life on Mars’ was playing as I drove back over the bridge to head back to Dundee.
As cheesy as it sounds, it did get me thinking.
This autonomous technology really does seem to be the stuff of sci-fi television of old. And yet it’s right here in the heart of Scotland.
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