Those living in Scotland better get prepared for driverless buses because they are set to hit the streets in 2021. It may only be two years away, but that time will go by fast.
According to Independent, if all goes well, Scottish passengers will be the first people in the world to ride on the automatic buses. Those in government have shared that by the year 2021, self-driving buses will be rolling down the streets of Scotland. The buses are expected to carry close to 500,000 passengers a year.
The driverless buses will run down Forth Road Bridge, which is restricted to mostly buses and taxis. Plus, the route will link Fife with Edinburgh Park. Service on these buses will operate every 20 minutes. The project is going to be an expensive one, according to the Department for Business — who also shared each bus will be a double-decker and carry 42 passengers at once.
Even though each bus will be self-driving, that doesn’t mean those currently driving buses are going to be out of a job. Safety regulations require that each bus still have a driver in case there is some sort of malfunction, and it needs to have a manual override to be driven by a person.
Automatic trains, cars, and now buses have become the latest trend. Companies all over the world are fighting to become the first to create a driverless vehicle that can drive on the open road. Yes, there is an area in London with driverless trains, but that is not the same as buses or cars on a public road with people and other vehicles around.
Unless another bus comes out sooner, Scotland is slated to be the first country to offer self-driving buses. Uber recently tried to unveil a self-driving car in Arizona, which did not go well. Here is hoping the government in Scotland has a better handle on launching driverless vehicles than Uber did.
The world as we know it is drastically changing. Whether we are ready for it or not living in an automated world is becoming a reality. What do you think about driverless buses hitting the streets of Scotland in the next two years?
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