(05 Feb 2019, 10:59 pm)S830OFT wrote 2025+
A suggestion for a time miles from now...
The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus with CityPilot. With it's self-driving feature it will enable a significant reduction in collisions... Not only that but it will enable operators to redeploy employees to either other areas or different positions within the company. 

I think for a demonstration trial the vehicle should see exclusive use to local services to enable the use of the CityPilot. 

We are years away from having driverless vehicles across our region, although we should consider the advantages of having such a world first product.

I don't think we will ever see driverless buses.

For starters, it would make hundreds of drivers redundant (what other jobs would be available?) plus, who handles fares and validation of tickets - as not all tickets are straight forward.

Autonomous vehicles have a long way to go before they are safe enough to be in the mix of regular traffic. The only way it would work is if everything went autonomous overnight, otherwise the human element will still cause confusion.