Alexander Dennis announced that its autonomous Enviro100AEV electric bus has begun trial passenger services as part of the next phase of Connector, an autonomous vehicle trial in Cambridge, England.
After extensive virtual and on-road testing, the self-driving bus started running on Wednesday 17th December. Another Enviro100AEV will join the trial in the coming weeks. The buses link the Trumpington and Babraham Park & Ride sites with the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC). Running Monday to Friday, the service is operated by Whippet, part of the Ascendal Group, and is free to use to the public.
Connector is a trial by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) to explore whether autonomous buses could be part of the transport solution for Cambridge in the future.
A smaller Connector bus running in West Cambridge has already carried 800 passengers since its launch in June, travelling over 2,000 miles. The two Alexander Dennis buses will give many more passengers the opportunity to experience the future of bus travel.
Designed and built in the UK, the Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEV electric autonomous bus recently won ‘Vehicle of the Year’ at the Self-Driving Industry Awards 2025. The bus integrates AI and high-performance computing with radar, Lidar and cameras to deliver fully automated driving. The buses are equipped with an SAE level 4 automated drive system by Fusion Processing Ltd. The vehicles are supported by trained safety drivers at all times.
Jamie Wilson, Head of Concepts & Advanced Engineering for Alexander Dennis, said: “Our Enviro100AEV carrying passengers as part of the Connector trial is another great milestone for autonomous bus technology in the United Kingdom. This moment builds on years of advanced research, development and testing in multiple projects, and Connector again sets new standards for what is possible today with the technology of the future.
“We are incredibly proud to work with the Greater Cambridge Partnership and Whippet, and to have supplied these buses for Connector together with our technology partner Fusion Processing and Mistral Bus & Coach as the owner of the vehicles.”
Steve Low, Managing Director of Mistral, commented: “This project is an important milestone in bringing safe, zero-emission, self-driving technology closer to everyday public transport. We are proud to be working alongside Alexander Dennis, Fusion Processing, the Greater Cambridge Partnership and the wider project team on a trial that is helping to build confidence and trust in this emerging technology.”
Ed Cameron, Managing Director at Whippet, said: “The launch of a second route with self-driving buses in Cambridge will allow more people the chance to experience how the new technology works, as well as further assessment of the role it may play in providing public transport in the future.”
The Connector project is funded by UK Government, as part of the CAM Pathfinder Programme. CAM Pathfinder is delivered by the Department for Business and Trade’s Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) team, in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.
The Connector trial is being delivered by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, together with partners Fusion Processing, Alexander Dennis, dRISK, Whippet, and Anthrometric. The buses are owned by Mistral Bus & Coach.
