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Belfast Harbour Estate first to test self-driving buses

[ January 15, 2025   //   Chris Lewis ]

Self-driving buses should soon be coming to the Belfast Harbour Estate. Officials from the harbour have visited automotive engineering partner HORIBA MIRA to observe testing of the Harlander, Northern Ireland’s first autonomous passenger vehicle, ahead of its delivery to Belfast in March.

Harlander is Northern Ireland’s first self-driving vehicle and will operate in Belfast Harbour Estate from Titanic Halt Railway station to Catalyst through Titanic Quarter.

Autonomous vehicles are able to within the Harbour Estate as they are not public roads, although the nine-seater vehicle will still have a “safety operator” on board. However, Belfast hopes that it will be the first step on the road to fully driverless transport systems in the UK.

The initial pilot will run from March to September, and will be free of charge. 

Tags: Belfast Harbour