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New trial of driverless car service in Milton Keynes

24 January 2022

A new trial of a car-hailing service which uses remote-controlled, driverless vehicles began recently in Milton Keynes.

The Fetch car system, backed by the government and Milton Keynes Council, allows people to order a car through a mobile app. The car, which is controlled by an operator, is then delivered to the customer. 

Imperium Drive has created the technology as a ‘remote driving solution for fleet operators to drive their vehicles safely from anywhere’. 

During the trial, each vehicle will initially have a ‘safety driver’ behind the wheel. 

Chief executive of Imperium Drive, Koosha Kaveh said "It's driverless but not autonomous. 

"There's still a human involved, but they'll be sitting in a control centre controlling the vehicle in the same way you would control a drone.

"We're working towards making remote driving safer than normal driving. In normal driving you still have blind spots around you that cause accidents. You also can't anticipate what's coming in terms of traffic, pedestrians, cyclists.

"Our goal is to make remote driving safer than actual driving.” 

Preliminary trails of the technology were previously conducted around the Milton Keynes stadium, home of the MK Dons football club. Several players and staff members for the club will be participating in the new trial. 

Head of Transport Innovation at Milton Keynes Council Brian Matthews expects driverless cars to become commonplace in the town within two years. He said, "We've been working at this for a number of years. We want people to move away from single occupancy cars.

"We're looking a range of solutions not just these driverless cars, but also larger shuttles using similar technology and four-seater pods that are completely autonomous."

Contract hire and fleet management 

We are always fascinated to learn about the latest vehicle technology and trust that you find this information interesting.

Marshall Leasing is a Bank of Ireland (UK) plc-owned business which offers a commercial and flexible approach to business contract hire, contract purchase, sale and leaseback for cars and LCVs fleets and management of purchased fleets. 

If you would like to find out more about our contract hire and fleet management services, please get in touch with us at info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or by calling 01480 414541. Alternatively, please complete our contact form.  

Image courtesy of Imperium Drive. 

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