Driverless bus coming to Belfast Harbour Estate

The Harlander is an automated passenger shuttle service

Driverless buses are set to carry passengers and goods across Belfast's Harbour Estate.

The Harlander project will shuttle people between Titanic Quarter railway station and Catalyst Science Park at Queen's Island.

The route will also take in Titanic Belfast and Belfast Metropolitan College.

The government is providing £5.5m, matched by industry to make a total £11m.

It is among seven UK projects getting government funding in support of self-driving technology.

Belfast Harbour told BBC News NI the project would be developed between 2023 and 2024 and become publicly available from late 2024.

• Passengers travel in driverless bus in UK first

The grants, from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Connected and Automated Mobility programme, are designed to help British companies develop experimental projects into offerings ready for the market.

'Potential for growth'

People and Corporate Services Director at Belfast Harbour, Mike Dawson, welcomed the announcement.

"The city's innovation district has enormous potential for growth and we at Belfast Harbour want to play our part in helping to build an innovation ecosystem that brings investment into the economy," he said.

"Electrified connected and automated vehicles offer a route to provide a clean, efficient and affordable public transport that aligns with net zero targets and provides connectivity to other modes of transport."

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said the business of self-driving vehicles had the potential to add tens of billions of pounds to the UK economy and create tens of thousands of jobs.

"This is a massive opportunity to drive forward our priority to grow the economy," he added.