Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Scottish Transport Minister officially launches the UK’s first autonomous bus service

  • Public service to launch on Monday 15 May
  • An important milestone for autonomous technology
  • Believed to be the first autonomous bus project of this complexity and ambition globally
  • Over one million miles of testing completed

Scotland’s Transport Minister Kevin Stewart has joined partners Stagecoach, Fusion, Alexander Dennis Ltd and Transport Scotland today (Thursday 11 May) to officially launch the UK’s first autonomous bus service, AB1, ahead of it beginning passenger service on Monday (15 May).

The Transport Minister was joined at the official media launch event at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre today by Ray O’Toole, Executive Chairman for Stagecoach, as well as representatives from each of the CAVForth partners.

CAVForth, is a collaborative project, comprising of Fusion Processing Ltd, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University, Bristol Robotics Lab, and the University of the West of England. It is part-funded by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).

AB1 is believed to be the first registered bus service in the world to use full sized autonomous buses.

The trial, which will now run until 2025, aims to demonstrate autonomous technology in a real-world environment transporting up to 10,000 passengers per week. During this time, the partners will make improvements and monitor the benefits for passengers, operations and society.

This key milestone in autonomous technology is the result of almost ten years of research and development from Fusion Processing Ltd, with their CAVStar system having covered over 1.8million kilometres in tests.

A fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV vehicles will cover the new 14-mile route, in mixed traffic, at up to 50mph across the iconic Forth Road Bridge from Ferrytoll Park & Ride, in Fife to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange.

The service will have two members of staff on board: a Safety Driver in the driver’s seat to monitor the technology, and a ‘Captain’ in the saloon to take tickets and answer customers questions. The Captain is there to demonstrate what a full-size autonomous bus might feel like in the future, when one member of staff can leave the cab while the computer does the driving, and engage with passengers, much like a conductor would have done.

The recently announced CCAV funding for CAVForth II, sees the project extended to 2025, challenging the partners to extend the route north to Dunfermline City bus station in 2024.

Scottish Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, said: “It is really exciting to see the innovative and ambitious CAVForth Project take to the roads in earnest after all the hard work of the partner organisations involved in bringing this world first to Scotland.

“We want Scotland to continue to be at the forefront in the development of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and the start of this live trial will really help the country establish its credentials on the world stage.

“I am excited to see how this technology can help to support our vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system.”

Ray O’Toole, Executive Chairman for Stagecoach said: “This is an incredibly exciting time, and we are delighted to see the hard work of all partners involved, pay off on the official launch by Scottish Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of transport innovation with this project, marking a significant milestone for public transport and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board from Monday.”

Alexander Dennis President & Managing Director, Paul Davies, said: “Our participation in this exciting project is testament to the great expertise of our engineering team, who continue to lead technology development for tomorrow’s mobility.

“We believe that automated driving systems like the one we are trialling in CAVForth will further improve safety by reducing reaction times, as well as offering the ability to drive buses in a more efficient manner by optimising acceleration and deceleration to deliver significant energy savings and reduced wear and tear on the vehicle.

“We look forward to gaining further experience through CAVForth and continuing to develop this promising technology for our customers.”

Professor Nick Antonopoulos, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice Principal of Research & Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “CAVForth is a world-leading project, and one we are proud to be involved in.

“Automation offers an opportunity to transform the ways we get around in years to come, while improving safety and reducing energy consumption. As this trial gets underway, we look forward to contributing Edinburgh Napier University’s transport research expertise to understand more about the passenger experience on the AB1 service.”

Jim Hutchinson, CEO, Fusion Processing, said: “CAVForth is an exciting showcase of how our CAVstar® Automated Drive System can safely operate in a very complex driving environment.

“This pilot is globally significant and marks a step change in the operation of autonomous commercial vehicles on public roads.”

Tomorrow: A Recipe for Togetherness at Fresh Start

Gather together with Fresh Start for a FREE community meal tomorrow (Friday 12th f May) at lunch time!

Enjoy laughs, chats and a hot meal served up with tasty cheddar at this special event from Galloway Cheddar Family Favourites and FareShare🧀❤️

#GallowayGatheringProject

#GallowayGatherings

StagEHd Festival reveals 2023 programme

StagEHd Festival, Edinburgh’s newest open-access community theatre festival, has announced its 2023 programme.

Returning once more to the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens West, StagEHd 2023 will present a weekend of theatre on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 June, with thanks to support from The National Lottery Awards for All Scotland fund. 

The festival opens at midday on Saturday 10 June by welcoming back the students of Momentum Performing Arts to kick things off with their Musical Mania (12:00, 10 Jun), a mash-up of musicals new and old.

Audiences demanded an encore from the group in 2022, and this year is bound to be the same, guaranteed to get you clapping, dancing, and singing along to your favourite stage hits. 

Following in the footsteps of this burgeoning talent, are two of Edinburgh’s oldest and newest community theatre companies. The Forth Act will preview their debut production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (13:30, 10 Jun) with a taster performance before their open-air run at Saughton Park later in June.

And Edinburgh People’s Theatre, Edinburgh’s longest running community theatre company, reprise their award-winning performance of The Book Club of Little Witterington (14:30, 10 Jun) from this year’s SCDA One-Act Play Festival. 

Later on Saturday afternoon, Shifting Sands Theatre will lead an all-ages Workshop in Clown & Physical Comedy (15:30, 10 Jun), before Frighthouse Productions share three tales of the surreal and spooky in The Wheel of Misfortune (16:30, 10 Jun), a family-friendly horror anthology inspired by Goosebumps and The Twilight Zone.

Finally on Saturday, Castle Rock will come alive with song as Edinburgh’s premier community choir, Sing in the City bring the first day of the festival to a close with Sing in the City – Under the Castle (18:00, 10 Jun).

Sunday’s performances start as all Sundays should, with a whole lot of interactive fun from Mr Blue Productions. Our ABC Story (12:00, 11 Jun) uses puppets, pockets, and a variety of objects to help young audiences create their very own “Once upon a time…” story. 


Mr Blue Productions StagEHd 2022, photo by John Preece

Pack up a Sunday picnic and enjoy lunchtime entertainment from the young dancers of KS Dance Academy who will get audiences on their feet with KS Dance Academy Showcase (13:30, 11 Jun). And Scotland’s premier all-female mumming troupe, The Meadows Mummers present a feminised pastiche of Shakespeare’s play within a play with The Not-So-Rude Mechanicals (14:30, 11 Jun). 

Emerging theatre company Resilience Theatre Movement preview their 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe offering on Sunday afternoon. Former friends and roommates, Annie and Frances haven’t spoken to each other in more than a year. But sparks fly when Frances shows up at Annie’s door drunk and demanding to talk in Waiting for Champagne (15:30, 11 Jun).

And emerging playwright Kate Macsween demonstrates the power of words in Letters from Holloway (17:00, 11 Jun), a story inspired by the women and young offenders incarcerated at Holloway Prison. 

2023’s StagEHd Festival closes on Sunday evening with an adaptation of one of Molière’s famous comedies, The Bourgeois Gentleman.

Presented by The Mirror of Stage | Lustro SCENY, Edinburgh’s bilingual English and Polish theatre company, Molière’s Garden Party (18:00, 11 Jun) is a funny yet thoughtful play that unravels the absurdity of human nature.

Supported by the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group and The National Lottery Awards for All Scotland Fund, StagEHd Festival is an open-access, free-to-attend, two-day celebration of Edinburgh’s performing arts. 

StagEHd 2023 will take place at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens West on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 June. Entry to the festival is free with a bucket collection at the end of each performance, with 100% of the proceeds being shared amongst the artists performing. 

To find out more about the festival, and to book your free tickets, visit www.stagehdfestival.com. 

Young Leader programme at PYCP

Exciting new opportunity for young people 14-18, PYCP is running a new 10-week Young Leader Programme.

Come along today (Thursday 11th May) to our intro session to find out more.

Learning 2 Lead provides a chance to get more involved here at PYCP, learn new skills and use existing skills.

Young people can also work on a Youth Achievement Awards, which look great on college/university/job application forms. For example, a bronze Youth Achievement Award is the SQA equivalent to a National 5

More investment in Hospital at Home

A further £3.6 million has been allocated to Hospital at Home to support more than 150 extra virtual beds.

Hospital at Home can provide a safe, patient centred alternative to an acute hospital admission. It provides a better outcome for the patient, who receives treatment in the safety and comfort of their own home, as well as reducing pressure on hospital sites.

The investment for 2023-24, which will take the total funding in the service to more than £10.7million since 2020, will increase patients managed through Hospital at Home by 50% – an additional 156 beds. 

Funding will be available to existing services, and areas yet to develop Hospital at Home, with improvement support provided by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. 

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Hospital at Home has already proved to be very successful and most importantly, beneficial to patients and the wider system. That’s why we have allocated a further £3.6 million so more people can be managed at home rather than in hospital.

“Patients have spoken very positively about the service and it also reduces pressure on A&E and the Scottish Ambulance Service by avoiding admissions and accelerating discharge. Hospital beds will always be available to people who need them, but this is a better alternative for many.”

Belinda Robertson, Associate Director of Improvement, Healthcare Improvement Scotland said: “We’re delighted the Scottish Government will continue to fund the development of Hospital At Home services. An increasing number of patients are experiencing the benefits of receiving acute hospital care at home.

“More and more NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships are embracing Hospital At Home by establishing and developing services. We will continue to support NHS boards and Partnerships to further develop the services they provide, and share learning across all Hospital At Home services.”

Since 2020 the Scottish Government has made available more than £8 million to support the development of Hospital at Home. 

Douze points for Liverpool!

PM Rishi Sunak: Liverpool is “doing Ukraine proud” by staging the Eurovision Song Contest

Liverpool is “doing Ukraine proud” by staging the Eurovision Song Contest, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said as he hosted a No10 reception last night to mark the event.

The event comes just days before the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday, which the UK is hosting on behalf of Ukraine who won last year’s competition. UK entry Sam Ryder came second with the chart-topping single Space Man.

Guests were invited to wear sparkly clothing and gathered in a room adorned with the Ukrainian and Union Flags, with disco balls hanging on the Downing Street staircase.

The Prime Minister introduced Ruslana, Ukraine’s first Eurovision winner, who performed for attendees. Sandie Shaw – the first British entry to win Eurovision in 1967 with the iconic hit track Puppet on a String – attended the event (top).

Also joining the reception were representatives from the Eurovision cultural programme in Liverpool, Ukrainian artists, Points of Light winners and Ukrainians forced to flee their homes.

The Prime Minister presented a Points of Light Award to children’s authors Natalie Reeves Billing and Jude Lennon from Liverpool. They have delivered over 23,000 “Builder Book Boxes” across the city, featuring learning resources to help children develop reading and creativity skills.

Points of Light Awards recognise outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community.

The Government is supporting the delivery of Eurovision with £10 million in funding and almost 3,000 tickets have been made available for displaced Ukrainians. Big Screens will be set up at over key locations throughout the UK for people to watch the shows live.

Speaking ahead of the Eurovision Grand Final, the Prime Minister, said: “Liverpool is doing us all proud. And I think they’re doing Ukraine proud too.

“It’s t’s an honour for us to host Eurovision on behalf of our Ukrainian friends. It shows yet again that the British people will stand by them for as long as it takes.

“As my friend President Zelenskyy says… one day this contest will be hosted in a victorious, free Ukraine.

“Now that will be a party to remember!”

Three jailed for violent attack in Lochend

Three men were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday following a violent attack on a man in Lochend.

Lewis Spence, 26, Connor Steele, 23, and Bradley Logan, 25, were each sentenced to seven years in prison following the attempted murder of a 40-year-old man in Lochend Road South, on Tuesday, 15 September, 2020.

The 40-year-old man was treated at St John’s Hospital in Livingston for severe injuries.

Detective Inspector Kevin Tait of Edinburgh CID said: “This was a targeted, violent attack linked to organised criminality that occurred in broad daylight. 

“The men were arrested following an extensive investigation and will now face the consequences of their actions.

“I would like to thank the members of the public for their assistance during our enquiries, which has undoubtedly assisted in securing this conviction.

“This type of violent crime will not be tolerated in Edinburgh and I hope the outcome today sends a clear message to those involved in serious organised crime, that we are committed to disrupting harmful activity in our communities and bringing the perpetrators of violence to justice.”

Anyone with information or concerns about criminality in their area can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.

Scottish Government fails to deliver on key recommendations of incineration review

Environmental campaigners have criticised the Scottish Government’s failure to commit to banning the incineration of plastics by 2030, as recommended by the independent review it commissioned.

Last Friday (5 May), the Scottish Government published its response to the second and final part of its independent review on the role of incineration in dealing with waste in Scotland.

In June 2022, the Scottish Government banned new incinerators following the review’s recommendation, and this latest announcement aims to reduce carbon emissions from existing plants – but campaigners say it falls short.

Rather than phasing out existing incinerators, the Scottish Government is supporting the development of expensive heat networks for them. Experts from the Scottish Government’s own advisory body have shown that the carbon emissions from heat generated from incinerators are higher even than gas boilers, so such measures are likely to increase, rather than decrease carbon emissions.

While the Scottish Government has indicated that it supports a ban on burning plastics by 2030 in principle, it has failed to commit to doing so or set out a credible action plan to deliver it.

Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “The failure of the Scottish Government to commit to the main recommendations of its own review is a missed opportunity to phase out existing incinerators and end the harmful practice of burning plastics as soon as possible.

“Plastics are fossil fuels, so burning them is directly contributing to climate breakdown. The independent review showed that incinerators are locking Scotland into a single use system – relying on market forces and promises of future policy changes is not enough to change this. We must take urgent action at every part of the supply chain if we are to stop mountains of non-recyclable plastics being thrown away and burnt.

“The Scottish Government response admitted that plastics often contain toxic chemicals, but the failure today to commit to ending a system which perpetuates their production means it is now more likely that these plastics will continue to harm people and the environment for far longer than they should.

“Instead of committing to a plan to phase out incinerators the Scottish Government has indicated support for the expansion of high-carbon incinerator linked heat networks. Its trust in carbon capture and storage to reduce emissions from incinerators is misplaced.

“Even if cost and technology barriers can be overcome, carbon capture will come too late to be effective for Scotland’s incinerators, which are some of the largest sources of carbon emissions in Scotland right now.”

Dobbies’ Edinburgh store teams up with RSPB to help save the house sparrow population

Garden Centre encourages customers to welcome declining bird species into their gardens

The UK’s leading garden centre, Dobbies, has teamed up with the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, the RSPB, to educate its customers in Edinburgh on the declining house sparrow population this May and encourage them to do their part to welcome this bird species into their gardens.

During the month of May, RSPB volunteers will be raising awareness and collect donations across a number of Dobbies’ stores while offering the opportunity to sign up to become an RSPB member.

Since the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch began in 1979, encouraging people to count birds for an hour in January, the house sparrow’s population has gone from an average of 10 visitors per garden to only about four in 2022.

Although house sparrows topped the Big Garden Birdwatch for the 19th year in a row in 2022, their population has declined so drastically that they are now on the UK Red List for birds, and any further declines would be disastrous.

As part of this campaign, Dobbies’ Edinburgh store hosted a Little Seedlings Club workshop on Sunday 7 May. Children learned about the official Red List and the house sparrow, as well as some helpful tips on how to encourage more house sparrows into their gardens.

Dobbies’ Community and CSR Communications Executive, Chloe Bell, explained: “Our Little Seedlings Club attendees are the next generation of gardening enthusiasts and this awareness workshop with RSPB at our Edinburgh store is extremely important when it comes to helping rescue the house sparrow.  

“I have fond memories as a child listening to the house sparrows as I watched them fly about the garden and we want the younger generation to experience this too. You can help these birds by planting trees, shrubs and flowers in the garden, a place for the house sparrow to take shelter, forage for insects to feed their chicks, and ultimately help increase the population.”

Adrian Thomas, the RSPB’s wildlife gardening expert, said: “We are really looking forward to working with Dobbies to spread the word about these wonderful garden birds, and how people can help them.

“They’re great fun for kids to learn about too – house sparrows are delightfully sociable and chattery and they really benefit when we give them the food, water, and home they need. It shows how little actions can really make a difference to our local wildlife.”

Dobbies’ latest podcast with Adrian Thomas talks about the house sparrow, where podcast host, ITV This Morning’s Daisy Payne, asks how we can create a welcoming environment in our gardens to help increase population numbers. The episode is available to listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, dobbies.com/podcast.

Customers looking to encourage house sparrows to visit their garden can pick up RSPB-branded supplies from their nearest Dobbies’ store. Spotlight products for May include Medium Easy-clean Seed Feeders, Sunflower Hearts, High Energy Fat Bals, Table Seed Mix, Suet Sprinkles and highly nutritious Mealworms.

Products:

–          RSPB Sunflowers Hearts, £12.99

–          RSPB Mealworms, £13.99

–          RSPB Favourites Blend, £6.99

–          RSPB High Energy Fat Bals with Sunflower Hearts, £2.99

–          RSPB Table Seed Mix, 6.99

–          RSPB Suet Sprinkles, £10.99

–          RSPB Medium Easy-Clean Seed Feeder, 16.99

For more information on Dobbies, visit www.dobbies.com

If you live rurally and can’t take part in the in-store workshops, there are downloadable resources at doobies.com you can access at home. 

For more information on RSPB and how to become a member, visit www.rspb.org.uk