Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility: Mass Transit 2

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size, academic institution, research technology organisation (RTO), transport related charity or public sector organisation (local authority or transport authority)
• collaborate with at least one other eligible, grant claiming, UK registered organisation

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Your project must include a connected & automated mobility (CAM) technology provider or an infrastructure provider.

Your project needs to demonstrate support and buy-in by a local or regional authority or a local or regional transport authority. This could be demonstrated either with the inclusion of the organisation in the project team or through a letter of support. The local or regional authority or a local or regional transport authority will be required to demonstrate endorsement of the interim report and final report generated by the study.

A business, research organisation, RTO, transport related charity or public sector organisation, can only lead on one application. If leading it can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications. An eligible organisation, if not leading an application, can collaborate in any number of applications.

Your project must:

• have total costs/a grant funding request between £50,000 and £200,000
• start by 1 December 2023
• end by 31 October 2024
• last between 5 and 11 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• work with Department for Transport (DfT) and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to ensure compatibility with regulatory requirements

We are not funding projects that:

• are industrial research or experimental development projects
• propose the use of automated vehicle technology on rail vehicles
• include aircraft or waterborne craft

The aim of this competition is to target early commercial self-driving vehicle opportunities and support the UK supply chain to grow and fill technology gaps necessary for their deployment.

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) is seeking proposals where Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) will deliver a significantly more cost effective and low carbon solution than traditional public transport options. These can be for example, heavy and light rail, trams and buses.

Your project must:

• identify a new application for CAM as a mass transit solution and quantify the real-life potential of a suitable low carbon solution which is more cost effective than traditional public transport options
• focus on passenger services, including applications where the CAM service will be utilised for logistics services in addition to the passenger services provided
• align with the nine principles of the Future of Mobility Urban Strategy where appropriate
• address the key issues raised in the Future of Transport: Rural Strategy – Call for Evidence and the associated Summary of Responses, where appropriate
• consider how your passenger service could be improved or expanded in the future, for example, as technology develops, and legislation enables the use of automated vehicles on public roads
• enhance how the public move and encourage active transport and public journeys, wherever appropriate

Your passenger service can be operated on:

• public spaces to which the public have access
• private or segregated spaces to which the public do not have access, for example tracks and disused railway routes
• a combination of the above

Your proposal must:

• outline the design, delivery and operational cases for the introduction of a CAM mass transit service on a specific UK route currently underserved by public transport
• show how the solution would solve real-life transport problems, particularly where traditional mass transit services are not deemed viable
• include how it could be practically delivered and operated as part of a wider integrated public transport network
• set out how and why the proposed automated vehicle service would provide better outcomes than traditional mass transit modes.

Your project must focus on all of the following:

• economic, social, and decarbonisation benefits, considering the Green Book
• capital expenditure and operational expenditure
• infrastructure and service delivery plan and timelines
• commercial viability and revenue protection
• passenger capacity, freight capacity (if relevant) and scalability of service
• encouraging the use of public transport
• integration into existing public transport networks, including active travel, with consideration of connected infrastructure, on demand and Mobility as a Service technologies
• connecting underserved routes, locations, or populations to employment centres, education opportunities and larger population centres
• ensuring safety and security, including cyber security
• use of UK-based automation and infrastructure technologies and expertise
• ensuring public trust in the service
• ensuring accessibility and inclusivity of the service

Your project can consider the use of CAM:

• on new infrastructure
• on disused infrastructure or infrastructure that otherwise requires costly upgrades, for example rail lines
• on roads
• in rural, semi-rural or urban environments

You must ensure that your project will consider all legal requirements in your chosen deployment areas. It is your responsibility to take legal advice in this matter.

An online briefing event will be held on Friday 26th May, 11:30am-1pm: click here to register to attend.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Anthony Gallego, KTM for Automated Mobility at Innovate UK KTN.