Grant funding provided by the UK Government will allow a project coalition led by the Greater Cambridge Partnership to build on the success of the Connector programme, which has already seen three Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEV introduced to a route serving the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The funding boost will allow the current services to be extended and test how self-driving buses can move from trial projects to real-world public transport services. It will help to gather further evidence about the customer experience, ticketing, and how safety and accessibility can be ensured.
Alexander Dennis and technology partner Fusion Processing Ltd will upgrade one of the existing Enviro100AEV, owned by Mistral Group and operated by Whippet, with dual redundant actuator technology to achieve full SAE Level 4 capability. A larger Enviro200AEV electric single-decker, equipped to the same standard, will also join the fleet. This will enable the project to demonstrate no-user-in-charge operation.
Commercialising Connector will also look at how self-driving buses could be used on Cambridgeshire’s planned busways, with a trial set to take place on the southern section of the existing guided busway.
Jamie Wilson, Head of Concepts & Advanced Engineering for Alexander Dennis, said: “Today’s confirmation of the Commercialising Connector project is fantastic news as it will continue the great work delivered by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and project partners.
“With the help of this latest UK Government funding, we will be able to deliver the most advanced self-driving buses in the country yet and develop them into a commercial proposition that can enhance and complement real-world bus services.
“We have a window of opportunity to develop and enhance the core expertise for connected and automated vehicles on a domestic level, not only securing job opportunities in Britain but also ensuring sovereignty over this key technology for transport.”
Commercialising Connector has been awarded £3.88 million of grant funding as part of the UK Government’s £150 million CAM Pathfinder programme, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in partnership with Zenzic and Innovate UK. All UK Government grant funding is subject to HMG approval.
Mark Cracknell, Programme Director at Zenzic, said: “Today’s announcement builds on all of the fantastic progress made by CAM Pathfinder so far and puts the UK firmly in the driving seat when it comes to developing and deploying the CAM solutions of tomorrow.
“From construction to public roads and airside, these projects have the potential to transform UK businesses, create and safeguard hundreds of jobs and further strengthen the domestic supply chain.”
Commercialising Connector is led by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and includes project partners Alexander Dennis, Fusion Processing, Anthrometric, Whippet and Ticketer.
Notes to editors
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About NFI
NFI is a leading global bus and motorcoach manufacturer and a provider of aftermarket parts and service solutions. With more than 9,000 team members across ten countries and operations spanning over 40 facilities, NFI delivers a comprehensive portfolio of bus and coach platforms.
Through its brands New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single- and double-deck buses), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™, NFI supports a diverse and extensive portfolio, serving public transit, commuter, and coach markets. In total, NFI supports an installed base of more than 100,000 buses and coaches worldwide. NFI offers a broad range of propulsion systems, including zero-emission electric (referring to propulsion systems that do not utilize internal combustion engines, such as trolley, battery, and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid, and advanced diesel technologies, providing agencies with multiple fleet technology options. NFI’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NFI) and its convertible unsecured debentures trade under the symbol NFI.DB. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, nfi.parts, www.alexander-dennis.com, arbocsv.com, and carfaircomposites.com.
About Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis is a leading manufacturer of double-deck and lightweight buses. The company’s next-generation zero-emission buses are tailored to operators’ requirements and have been independently confirmed to be among the most efficient electric buses in the market. Alexander Dennis also offers low-emission buses that use advanced load management to deliver competitive total cost of ownership for customers. All Alexander Dennis products are backed up by comprehensive AD24 aftermarket support including parts, field service, workshops, technical publications, training and the AD Connect telematics suite.
Alexander Dennis builds on 130 years of heritage and today has team members at 16 facilities in ten countries as well as partner locations. It is a proud part of leading independent global bus and coach manufacturer NFI Group. Further information is available at alexander-dennis.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of NFI that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services; customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses; the ability of customers to suspend or terminate contracts for convenience; production may be delayed or production rates may be decreased as a result of ongoing and future supply chain disruptions and shortages of parts and components, shipping and freight delays, and disruption to and shortage of labor supply; and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca.
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