MultiCAV

A fleet of driverless shuttles, taxis, buses, and eBikes will carry real passengers through mixed traffic on UK public roads for the first time, all coordinated through a single smartphone app. The MultiCAV project addresses a critical gap between isolated autonomous vehicle trials and a workable public transport system. Previous demonstrations have tested single vehicle types on closed courses or segregated lanes. This project throws multiple autonomous vehicle types—each with different speeds, capacities, and costs—into real Oxfordshire traffic, then watches what passengers actually choose. The MaaS (Mobility as a Service) platform pulls live transport data from multiple sources to offer personalised journey options, letting researchers compare user behaviour against commercial viability. If successful, the project will determine the optimal mix of autonomous vehicles for a specific location, providing a replicable blueprint for other towns and cities. The immediate impact is on transport infrastructure planning: councils and operators would gain hard data on which vehicle types pay for themselves, which routes attract riders, and how to price services competitively against conventional buses and taxis. The longer-term consequence is a practical pathway from isolated demonstrations to a functioning, commercially sustainable autonomous transport network that could quietly reshape how people move through mid-sized British towns.