Mayor to outline ‘exciting’ new driverless cars project for the West Midlands

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An ‘exciting’ new project which could put the West Midlands at the forefront of the UK’s driverless cars revolution is set to be outlined by the region’s mayor next week. Mayor Andy Street will join guests at Warwick University on Tuesday where he is expected to detail plans to use 50 miles of Birmingham and Coventry roads for the development and evaluation of connected and driverless vehicles (CAV).

The specially-selected roads will cover a wide range of areas across the West Midlands, making it the largest and most diverse testing environment in the UK.

Using real-world environments, Midlands Future Mobility will allow a range of industries to test their various technologies on the West Midlands’ road network, with the ultimate aim of improving integration both within the region and across the rest of the UK.

The use of CAV to help with pollution and congestion was first mooted in the Midlands Connect strategy document last year.

Referring to potential development of the technology, the strategy noted: “There is now a real opportunity in that existing and new technologies opens the potential to achieve far more effective use of our networks.

“Midlands Connect will play its role in encouraging a market for innovation and smart connectivity.

“In particular an operating environment for connected and autonomous vehicles, where the region has an input into the conditions required to implement these initiatives including, infrastructure, regulation, operating models and insurance risks.”

The strategy also outlined plans to begin development work on autonomous vehicle pilots between 2025 and 2030.

Midlands Future Mobility is a collection of experts from across the transport industry. The consortium’s eight partners are WMG, Amey, AVL, Costain, Coventry University, HORIBA MIRA Ltd, WIG, TfWM. It is funded by industrial partners and by Innovate UK via Meridian Mobility.