The driverless bus in Inverness is currently not working thanks to a technical problem which has plagued it all month.
The autonomous vehicle (AV) ought to be shuttling passengers along a 1.8-mile route between Inverness UHI Campus and the Inverness Retail and Business Park.
But it has been undergoing repairs since it broke down at its launch on October 6 — and right now it is off the road.
However, it is hoped the bus will soon be up and running again once work to fix it is complete.
Inverness driverless bus ‘didn’t know where it was’ at official launch
The 15-passenger shuttle, named the Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Driverless Machiney in a Press and Journal naming competition, faced difficulties at its official launch at UHI Campus at the start of the month.
It is understood the vehicle could not identify the route — the technology of the bus, in other words, was unable to pinpoint its position.
Regional transport partnership Hitrans is leasing the vehicle until next Spring as part of a pilot project to test the feasibility of AV transport.
The first of its kind for Scotland pilot has been backed with EU funding of nearly £150,000 to lease the bus.
Hitrans projects and policy manager Jayne Golding said: “The vehicle is currently out of service because it ended up needing a replacement sensor, which has been successfully fitted, but it is awaiting the final stage of virtual calibration.
“This has taken longer than expected but I have asked for continual updates”.
How exactly does it work?
The Inverness driverless bus does not have a steering wheel, driver’s seat or brake pedals.
It works via a satellite navigation with sensors attached to the cab that pull it to a stop when an obstacle comes onto its path.
But while the vehicle drives itself autonomously, a Stagecoach driver is on board the Inverness bus at all times, ready to take manual control if required.
Trials of the Stagecoach-run service are scheduled to run until March next year.
You can find out more about the Inverness driverless bus here:
Conversation