Solihull scales up self-driving shuttle service

Visitors to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in the West Midlands will soon be able to get around by hopping onboard a new self-driving shuttle service as part of the Solihull & Coventry Automated Links Evolution (Scale) project.

Scale comprises a collaborative initiative aimed at better understanding the role self-driving vehicles might play in the UK’s future transport system and the pilot will see three self-driving shuttles ferry passengers along a 7km route linking up Birmingham International rail station, the NEC and Birmingham Business Park.

Scale is one of the six successful projects from the deployment competition of the Department for Transport’s Centre for Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) . These are said to form some of the most advanced set of commercial, self-driving passenger and freight operations anywhere in the world.

The project is being delivered by a consortium led by Solihull Council, including both Warwick and Coventry universities, Transport for West Midlands’ (TfWM), the NEC, Coventry City Council, Direct Line Group and automated vehicle simulation specialists IPG and dRisk.

Funding for the multimillion-pound project has been provided by the CCAV. As part of this, Solihull Council will receive £579,260 to deliver the project, as well as oversee installation of specialist roadside technology to allow the smooth running of the vehicles.

In 2021, an earlier set of passenger trials led by the council saw Solihull become one of the first places in the country with self-driving vehicles on its roads. Building on previous learning, Scale will now attempt to demonstrate and further develop understanding around connected automated mobility (CAM) services. It will look specifically at the commercial viability of self-driving operations, passenger experience and operational factors such as insurance and vehicle maintenance.

The accessible fully-electric shuttles being used for the trial were built by New Zealand autonomous vehicle manufacturer Ohmio and can carry up to 20 passengers. They use a suite of cameras and sensors to understand their surroundings, allowing them to interact with live traffic and move around safely. In line with current legislation, the shuttles will have a human operator permanently onboard, who will have the ability to take control if required. Each journey will also be tracked in real time from the regional TfWM control centre.

On-site testing will be underway shortly with passenger services along the first section of the route expected to go live before the end of 2024. The pilot project is scheduled to run until the end of March 2025.

Commenting on the deployment, councillor Andy Mackiewicz, cabinet member for climate change & planning, said: “CAM technology has the potential to revolutionise the way we get around. We are excited to be leading the way, not just in Solihull, but regionally and across the country, in providing learning on CAM deployments in different setting and scenarios. We’ve already carried out a series of successful pathfinder trials here in Solihull, and shown how it is possible to practically and safely start incorporating self-driving vehicles into key parts of our transport infrastructure.

“Scale represents the next step in this learning and will help develop our understanding around how future commercial passenger services might operate. Taking place across one of the best-connected destinations in the UK and Europe, this new Solihull-based route will join up three key assets within the UK Central Hub area, operating in a busy but controlled environment and gaining further real-world operating experience.”

Ohmio global CEO Dean Zabrieszach added: “We have been involved in numerous trial deployments across the world - however, in the Scale project, it is evident that our consortium members are eager to progress towards a full-scale transportation service. Autonomous electric shuttles… have the capacity to fill a void in current transportation systems by providing first-mile and last-mile accessibility for our communities.”

Mark Cracknell, programme director at Zenzic, a body established by government and industry to champion UK connected and automated mobility, said: “With these investments, the UK is further strengthened and positioned to become one of the world’s leading destinations for the adoption of CAM technology and the delivery of improved transport services.”