Apollo

"Project Apollo will deliver a new mobility service: autonomous ride-sharing vehicles in the London Borough of Greenwich. This service is for residents or workers in areas which are poorly served by existing public transport and driven services.

The Apollo pilot will be led by Addison Lee, Britain's largest-scale and most trusted private-hire operator, which carries 10million passenger a year in 350 cities around the world. The consortium includes Oxbotica, which has clocked up more autonomous vehicle miles than any other company in Britain, Nominet which is a world-leader in cybersecurity, Immense which is the UK's expert in fleet simulation and DG Cities, which brings the essential understanding of city needs.

Apollo's pilot will be the largest in Europe, operating over 12 months with a fleet of 15 Ford vehicles, capable of SAE Level 4\. The aim is to carry out 25,000 passenger trips, covering 300 million kms and prepare to launch a service which is viable commercially, for customers and for the city. Once tried and tested in London, the full-scale CAV passenger service will be rolled-out to other UK cities and exported.

Combining the UKs largest-scale service provider with the leading developer of autonomous technology and strong city leadership, means Apollo will be able to create a service with excellent customer experience, which connects people in transport-poor areas. The on-demand ride-sharing service will be affordable and inclusive, and will be demand-led -- with an ability to flex the area covered, dependent on customer needs.

Autonomous ride-sharing offers multiple advantages. The ""sharing"" aspect helps tackle congestion by incentivising people out of private cars. Electrification means that the service will be environmentally sustainable. And by addressing an existing transport need current driven modes do not address, the project will contribute to social inclusion and economic regeneration.

As well as informing potential service operators, this project will aim to inform regulators and policy makers as they deliver the Future of Mobility vision and ensure future policy benefits from the latest CAV knowledge. Through this approach we believe that we will help shape and build the market (the demand side) for the CAV sector in the UK and beyond.

The Apollo project presents an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate UK Connected and Autonomous capabilities and technologies to a global audience and will pave the way for leading UK service operators, technology providers and cities to set the global standard for next-generation mobility services."