--- title: "Self-Driving Bus Requires Two Full-Time Employees to Operate" description: "A new \"self-driving bus\" pilot program in Scotland will require not one but two full-time human operators when it hits the road." date: "2023-04-09" modified: "2023-04-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/self-driving-bus-human-operators" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" tags: - "autonomous car" - "driverless bus" - "scotland" - "the digest" --- # Self-Driving Bus Requires Two Full-Time Employees to Operate ![A new "self-driving bus" pilot program in Scotland will require not one but two full-time human operators when it hits the road.]() *\Image: Stagecoach\* ## Real Human Being The concept of "autonomous" vehicles generally conjures up images of futuristic, driverless living rooms on wheels that lack a driver's seat or even a steering wheel. But, as a new "autonomous" bus pilot program in Scotland goes to show, we're really not quite there yet. That's because the program requires not one but *two* humans to operate the buses full-time. While UK outlets like the [*BBC*](), [*The Guardian*](), and [*Sky News*]() breathlessly lead their stories on the Scottish bus line with the moniker "self-driving," [*Jalopnik* was the one to point out]() the curious caveat in its headline. As that outlet notes, the quote-unquote autonomous bus line will feature five double-decker vehicles, operated in part by a safety driver and a bus captain who will help passengers board the bus. In other words, "self-driving" feels like a bit of a misnomer. ## Go Forth The bus route will take up to 10,000 passengers per week on a 14-mile circuit in and out of the suburbs of Edinburgh. Officials are already singing its praises, while the British government is (perhaps [erroneously]()) calling it the first of its kind in the world. "This is an exciting milestone for this innovative and ambitious project," Kevin Stewart, Scotland's transport minister, told the *BBC*, "and I very much look forward to seeing Project CAVForth take to the roads next month." "We are excited to introduce the UK's first autonomous bus fleet in east Scotland," Stagecoach UK managing director Carla Stockton-Jones added. While this Scottish fleet certainly isn't the first [driverless bus]() to [hit public streets]()[,]() it's nevertheless ironic that so-called [self-driving transportation still needs humans to operate]() in the year 2023 — but then again, it's probably for the best, given the current [state of the technology](). **More on autonomous vehicles:** [*Hackers Say They Can Access Teslas and Make Them Honk Wildly*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()