Greater Cambridge Partnership has welcomed two new partners for its self-driving vehicle project, Connector.

The Connector project aims to bring autonomous buses to Cambridge, with the first self-driving vehicle set to start its service in late summer.

Alexander Dennis Ltd, the UK’s largest bus manufacturer, and Fusion Processing Ltd, a leading provider of Automated Drive Systems have been invited to join the consortium. The trial will start with a self-driving bus serving a route from the Madingley Road Park & Ride site around the University of Cambridge’s West Cambridge Campus and into Eddington.

The Connector consortium is led by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and also includes Gamma Energy, IPG Automotive, dRISK and Stagecoach. The project is funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and industry partners.

Cllr Elisa Meschini, Chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board, said: "For Cambridge to thrive now and in the future, the area needs the infrastructure and mass public transport systems to cope with the demand – autonomous vehicles are one part of this solution. It will be really exciting to see what was once considered to be fanciful science fiction to be out on our roads giving people choice in how they travel so I look forward to seeing how the pilots go."