Public will have a chance to test first the driverless bus in London

Around 100 people will have a chance to travel in a prototype shuttle on a two-mile route near London’s O2 Arena over the next three weeks.

And it is hoped the project could make it easier for smaller neighborhoods in Greenwich to access existing public transport hubs.

With five cameras and three lasers will help the vehicle navigate along a riverside path used by pedestrians and cyclists at up to 10mph, although there will also be a trained person on board who can stop the vehicle if required during the tests.

PA

It was Dr Graeme Smith, chief executive of Oxbotica, which is developing the electric vehicles, told the Press Association: ‘The vehicle will see up to 100 metres ahead and if it detects something that it thinks is in its path it will come to a nice graceful halt.

‘If it needs to emergency brake if somebody steps right in front, it can do that as well. It’s been designed to be safe and fail-safe specifically in a pedestrianised environment. We look out for pedestrians, cyclists, cats and dogs.’

PA

PA

Officials behind the £8 million GATEway Project believe the first paying passengers could use the system by 2019 on a trial basis, and it could eventually be rolled out to similar locations across the country.

Self-driving UK?

Self-driving cars were tested by a major manufacturer on public roads in the UK for the first time last month.

Nissan clocked up more than 300 miles using prototypes of its Leaf model with enhanced autonomous driver technology on busy routes in east London.

Last week the Government announced plans for the first phase of its £100 million investment in testing infrastructure to develop autonomous driving technology.

A ‘cluster of excellence’ will be created along the M40 corridor, using existing testing centres in Birmingham, Coventry, Oxford, Milton Keynes and London.

Nearly six out of 10 (57%) UK adults believe connected and autonomous vehicles will improve their quality of life, according to a recent survey of 3,641 people by the

Automatic braking and parking, and the ability of cars to self-diagnose faults, were cited by respondents as features most likely to reduce stress.