The UK city of Sunderland is set to launch the North East’s first autonomous passenger shuttle in the coming weeks.
As part of the Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle (SAMS) initiative scheduled for launch in Q1 of 2025, a self-driving emissions-free Ford E-Transit shuttle will be available for passengers to reach key destinations in the city.
Backed by the Government’s Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK, the SAMS project is leveraging £4.6 million of public and private funding to deploy self-driving shuttles in the city. This has come from £66 million invested into self-driving technologies and services by the CCAV over the last three years.
“In busy cityscapes such as Sunderland, road space is at a premium and the number of vehicles on the road is ever increasing,” Mark Cracknell, Program Director at Zenzic which is supporting the SAMS project, told Zag Daily. “There has long been a drive to encourage shared transport, but such services can often be expensive. Dedicated shuttles can play a key part of a lower-cost transport network
“Designed to navigate the complex streets of Sunderland, shuttles give us the opportunity to improve the transport provision of the city’s residents. The careful rollout of automated vehicles will also reduce the variability of human drivers and be the biggest step-change in road safety since the seatbelt.”
Oxa has been selected as the autonomy provider for the project and will work with the council and partners to strengthen Sunderland and the North East as a hub for autonomous innovation.
The shuttle will transport passengers between Sunderland Interchange, Sunderland Royal Hospital, and the University of Sunderland City Campus using public roads. Safety operators will accompany each ride.
Passenger feedback will be collected throughout the project, and it’s hoped that the initiative will provide insights into how autonomous technologies can benefit other urban areas in the future.
“The travelling public has one of the biggest roles to play in the safe deployment of self-driving services and as such all current projects are working hard to engage the public, provide opportunity to experience the services in operation, and to provide feedback.”
