"This project is symbolic of what we've done over the last 12 years, reshaping the streets and the city," Christophe Najovski, the city's deputy mayor in charge of green spaces, stated during the opening ceremony.
Kinetic's CEO Nikhil Naikal states, 'We have eyes, and when we need to correct vision, we go to an optometrist... In the same way, this is a digital prescription to correct the errors of the car's understanding of the world around it.'
DoorDash's investment in Also aims to develop and accelerate the deployment of autonomous delivery at scale, focusing on areas not yet fully solved for, including intersections of roadways and bike lanes.
It's tempting to frame autonomous driving as a single leap. In public transport, adoption tends to be incremental - because the system is built for reliability, and new capabilities have to fit into daily operations without disrupting service. That is why a practical strategy is evolution, not revolution: introduce autonomy in a defined domain, learn safely in real operations, and expand capability step-by-step.
For more than a decade, autonomous buses have been "almost ready." Demonstrations with safety drivers began around 2015, and ten years later, this is still largely what we see. The reason is not a lack of ambition - it is physics, safety, and economics. Autonomous buses on city streets are inherently difficult. They carry dozens of passengers, operate as heavy vehicles, and move through a chaotic urban environment.
The ScotZEB3 programme will deliver a total of 334 vehicles, comprising 227 buses and 107 coaches, to be integrated into fleets operated by companies including Stagecoach, Lothian, First Bus, Ember and Rock Road.
