New projects studying how CCAM technology can improve transport in remote, rural, and urban areas in the UK

Local Authorities and regional transport operators were awarded a share of £1.3 million in joint UK government and industry funding for six projects to study how self-driving vehicle technology can improve local transport in remote, rural, and urban areas across the UK.

Studies will build evidence on how emerging transport technologies could connect underserved communities to employment centres, education opportunities, and healthcare service, in a cheaper, more sustainable and safer way. Self-driving vehicles could revolutionise public transport and passenger travel, especially for those who don’t drive or live in rural communities.

The projects add to four other feasibility studies looking into potential routes where automated vehicles could operate exclusively from other traffic, to relieve congestion on the A414 through Hertfordshire and Essex, parts of Eastern Cambridge, Birmingham and Solihull, and Milton Keynes.

The awarded projects are:

• Autonomous Healthlink (Northumberland) project will study the feasibility of a zero emission self-driving system on a segregated route between Seaton Delaval Station to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.
• Blythe Rural Automated Vehicle Operations (West Midlands) project will study the feasibility of a shuttle service utilising two different self-driving vehicle technologies on a short hop of the Strategic Road Network on the M42, and within the Midlands Future Mobility initiative .
• Commercialising Connected and Automated Vehicle Services in the Scottish Highlands and Islands (Inverness and Isle of Skye) project will study the commercial potential of a self-driving vehicle service to link Inverness College University of the Highlands and Islands Campus to key locations in Inverness and connect ferry passengers to public transport on the Isle of Skye.
• Dromos Connected and Automated System (Bolton) project will study the feasibility of an on-demand, 24/7 self-driving system running on a decommissioned railway corridor connecting the Bolton Transport Interchange to the Royal Bolton Hospital.
• HertsLynx Connected and Automated Mobility On-Demand (Hertfordshire) project will study a self-driving service using on demand responsive transport technology connecting passengers in the Maylands Business Park region to Harpenden Station and St Albans.
• Integrated Mixed Traffic Mobility for Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit (Hertfordshire) project will examin the feasibility of Dedicated Driverless Spaces for articulated buses running on segregated routes and public roads of the Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit network.

Source: The original article was published here