Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has secured £3.88 million in UK government funding to advance its self-driving bus programme, moving trials of autonomous public transport a step closer to full commercial services.
The money comes through Innovate UK’s Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Pathfinder programme, which is funded by the UK government and delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with Zenzic and Innovate UK. The award will fund a project called Commercialising Connector, building on GCP’s existing Connector trials in Cambridge, UK.
Self-driving Connector buses already operate on routes serving Cambridge West, Eddington and Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and have carried more than 4,000 passengers across both routes to date. The new funding will extend these trials and gather further evidence on how self-driving buses could move from pilot projects into everyday public transport services, covering areas such as customer experience, ticketing, safety and accessibility.
Guided busway trial planned
Part of the funding will support a trial of self-driving buses on the southern section of Cambridgeshire’s guided busway, planned for later this year. GCP said the work would help establish how autonomous buses could be integrated with the region’s existing busway infrastructure.
Blueprint for wider rollout
Cllr Brian Milnes, chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, says: “Cambridge has already become one of the UK’s most exciting places to test autonomous transport.
“This funding gives us the opportunity to go further and explore how these services could be introduced at scale. It’s about turning innovative technology into something that could genuinely benefit residents, businesses and visitors in the years ahead.”
GCP said that, if successful, the Commercialising Connector programme could provide a blueprint for future self-driving bus services in Cambridge and in other UK towns and cities.
GCP is the local delivery body for a City Deal with the UK government, bringing investment worth up to £1 billion over 15 years to Greater Cambridge. Its partner organisations are Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, the University of Cambridge and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board.
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