Driverless shuttle bus trial on Margate road

A driverless shuttle bus trial has taken place on the streets of Kent.

The eight-seater Ohmio Lift electric vehicle offered passengers free journeys between Margate railway station and the Turner Contemporary on Friday as part of the Self Driving Industry Awards which were held at the venue.

East Thanet MP Polly Billington was one of the first to use the trial service and is backing calls for it to become permanent during the tourist season.

"People who would otherwise find that walk too far are able to enjoy one of our greatest attractions," she said. "Having driverless vehicles means that we are designing in accessibility right from the start."

The Ohmio Lift currently operates regular passenger services in Milton Keynes and is a fully autonomous shuttle, mapping the road ahead to build a database of road conditions and hazards to complete its route.

Travelling at a maximum speed of 16mph, the vehicle hasn't got a steering wheel, but if it does need to be driven manually it has a joystick which can be controlled by the onboard safety driver.

"For far too long our public transport has been designed simply for the able-bodied," said Billington.

"If we've got driverless vehicles like this we can really make sure that people who really need public transport, even for those short journeys, are able to get around and about our town."

Neil Kennett, from Cars of the Future, said the Ohmio was packed with the latest technology.

"It's got cameras, it's got LiDAR, it's got all sorts of sensors and it's actually very good at knowing what's going on around it," he said.

A safety driver is required by licence to assist passengers when the vehicle is operating, however it is planned that it will run without any human supervision once testing is complete.

Ian Paulford, from Smart City Consultancy, was acting as safety driver during the Margate trial and said public wellbeing was the highest priority.

"We have to prove that it's safer than a normal driver, so it'll use the LiDARs, it'll use all the tech around it to give you that safe experience," he said.

Local leaders from across the political spectrum now hope that the driverless vehicle can return to offer a permanent service during peak season.

Mayor of Margate Councillor Leo Britcher said, "We're a town that's been innovators, we were the first seaside town, we invented donkey rides on the beach, so actually having a driverless vehicle bringing people from the station into the town would be fantastic."

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