Aftermarket March 2023

MARCH 2023 AFTERMARKET 27 www.aftermarketonline.net Great self-driving debate at London APC event Self-driving advocates and sceptics gathered in London in December for the Advanced Propulsion Centre’s Future of Technology event, supported by Zenzic. Trent Victor, Director of Safety Research at Waymo (formerly Google’s self-driving car project), remoted-in from Stockholm and cheerily logged off immediately after his polished presentation. He had been expected to participate in a debate on ethics and security, but let’s focus on the positives. Host Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation, seamlessly rejigged the agenda and Peter Davies, Technical Director of Thales, Jessica Uguccioni, lead lawyer on the Law Commission’s Automated Vehicles Review, and Professor Nick Reed of Reed Mobility, delivered high-quality debate on the question; Are self- driving vehicles still a fantasy? Cryptography expert Davies urged the audience to consider “which bits of the system will be made brittle” by facilitating connectivity. He referenced the worldwide grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes as an example of commercial danger. Jessica equated the safety level for self- driving cars with the driving test, asking: “How hard should it be? What should be in it?”. She then addressed the “value judgement” of whether self-driving cars should be allowed to break the rules, for example, to mount a pavement. Professor Reed addressed this in a 2021 paper emphasising the importance of a role for the public. He referenced his Rees Jeffreys Road Fund supported research into societal engagement, and called for “an industry standard on data collection.” Momentous self-driving public transport announcements are like buses, it seems. You wait ages for one and then two come along at once.On 20 January, CAVForth announced that its single-decker autonomous bus had officially taken passengers for the first time. A fleet of five such vehicles will cover the 14- mile route from Ferrytoll Park and Ride in Fife to the Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange, a journey which takes them over the iconic Forth Road Bridge. Louise Simpson, CAVForth lead project manager for Stagecoach, said: “We’re really excited to have reached this major milestone in our project plan. Until now, only project team members had been able to trial the autonomous service.” Ivan McKee, business minister for the Scottish government, added: “This is another hugely significant step forward for the CAVForth project. It brings us closer to these autonomous vehicles entering service.” One of the lucky passengers, Fleur Dijkman, told the BBC: “I wasn't worried at all. You wouldn't know the difference between this and a normal bus.” Then, on 23 January, Milton Park near Didcot saw the launch of the UK's first all-electric autonomous bus service, the culmination of a five-year project and part of the Mi-Link green travel programme. Here, the plaudits go to consortium lead First Bus, Oxfordshire County Council, the University of the West of England and Zipabout, while the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Fusion Processing can boast a hand in both projects. Attending the Didcot event, Richard Holden MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for roads and local transport, said: “The launch of the UK’s first autonomous, zero- emission bus today is yet another key step towards achieving Net Zero, creating high-wage, high-skilled new jobs and opportunities.” First Bus md Janette Bell added: “First Bus serves millions of customers in the UK, and we know that many take the bus because they care about reducing their carbon footprint.” In a video interview with The Independent, Jim Hutchinson, CEO at Fusion Processing, explained: “It does have a safety driver on board at all times, for regulatory purposes, but it can drive itself in all conditions. It's SAE level4, so that means within a defined area. This is a great showcase for an on-demand route.” Together, CAVForth and Didcot make January 2023 a candidate for best UK self-driving month ever, certainly in terms of public transport. Landmark stuff indeed. Self-driving public transport announcements like buses