Driverless buses could soon be operating in Cambridge, after the Government gave its backing to a scheme to provide autonomous shuttle vehicles for the city.

A consortium that includes the Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Smart Cambridge group and Coventry-based RDM Group (www.dmgroup.co.uk) has won funding for a feasibility study as part of Innovate UK’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicles competition.

Cambridge Biomedical Campus has more than 12,000 workers, working varied shift patterns and serving vital local facilities such as Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

The feasibility study will explore the potential for an out-of-hours driverless shuttle service on a fixed route between the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Trumpington Park and Ride.

A second area of interest is a driverless shuttle service between the Wellcome Genome Campus and Whittlesford Parkway railway station, on a new off-road pathway.

The Wellcome Genome Campus is working to find a solution to the challenge of connecting its 2,600 workers from a wide catchment area to the local station, which is 2.9km away.

The Campus has experienced a significant growth in numbers in recent years, and it expects the number of employees to double over the next decade.

RDM said that it will design and manufacture a larger version of its four- and eight-passenger “self-driving pods to suit the location and customer needs. The new pods will be designed to accommodate wheelchairs, mobility scooters and carry bicycles, in addition to seated passengers.”