Are there humans and how fast can they go? West Midlands autonomous shuttle questions answered
A new autonomous shuttle service is operating in the West Midlands - and the news has been met with curiosity and some questions from BirminghamLive readers.
The cube-like buses will run a 7km route to major venues like the NEC, the bp pulse LIVE Arena and Birmingham International Rail station, which links to Birmingham Airport.
Solihull Council said the shuttle route would be fully operational in the summer but for now it is being rolled out in phases - meaning travellers can only catch a ride for a portion of the route.
READ MORE: Route map reveals every stop new West Midlands autonomous shuttles will make
In response to the news, one reader said he hoped the shuttles would replace "rip off taxis."
Another added that due to it being a trial it was just an "experiment."
A big question was if the shuttles would actually continue to run in the West Midlands past the end of the trial.
We've put together an explainer below answering questions readers have had, and to help you plan ahead if you do plan to catch a ride in one of the cube-like self-driving shuttles.
The shuttle trial is called The Solihull and Coventry Automated Links Evolution (SCALE) project.
It is being delivered by a consortium led by Solihull Council, including WMG at the University of Warwick and Coventry University, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the NEC, Coventry City Council and automated vehicle simulation specialists IPG and dRISK.
The blue, green and red shuttles are fully-accessible and the creation of New Zealand-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer Ohmio, represented in the UK by Ohmio UK.
Each vehicle can carry up to 14 passengers and has cameras and sensors to understand their surroundings. The shuttle is also fully accessible to wheelchair users.
The shuttles are fully electric and have a range of 125 miles.
No, the shuttles will be operating between 10am and 3pm on the following dates:
Monday 31 March
Wednesday 2 April
Friday 4 April
Monday 7 April
Wednesday 9 April
Thursday 10 April
Monday 14 April
Wednesday 16 April
Wednesday 23 April
Thursday 24 April
Friday 25 April
Monday 28 April
Wednesday 30 April
Thursday 1 May
Solihull Council said that while the shuttles are autonomous, there is a human on board to oversee the safety of the shuttles.
The council explained: "Although the safety operator has the ability to take control of the shuttle in an emergency, they will not be operating the shuttle on the majority of the route.
"The route has been pre-mapped so the vehicles are aware of their environment – this means they have the ability to stop themselves in an emergency or if there is an unexpected hazard in the road.
"The goal for this technology is to remove the need for a safety operator within the vehicle in the future, instead allowing them to be remotely monitored from a control room."
Futuristic shuttles are already ferrying passengers around the NEC area in Solihull.
The live route currently encompasses the bp pulse LIVE Arena to the VIP and blue badge parking area.
The route will be extended in further sections to link passengers from Birmingham International railway station to the NEC and Birmingham Business Park by the summer. You can read more on the phased-roll out of the route here.
As it stands, the SCALE trial is temporary. However council bosses have not ruled out them returning to Solihull once the trial finishes.
A Solihull Council spokesperson explained: "The success of these trials will provide knowledge and experience of self-driving vehicles in a real-world environment, meaning that they could be rolled-out elsewhere in Solihull or as part of a permanent route in the future."
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