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Solihull Council and the SCALE consortium are pleased to announce that the latest phase of the award‑winning Solihull & Coventry Automated Links Evolution (SCALE) project will go live this week (Thursday 5 February). Marking a major milestone, its fleet of autonomous shuttles will begin operating for the first time along the full 7km route between Resorts World, the NEC (including access to Birmingham International Train Station), and Birmingham Business Park (BBP).
This latest deployment builds on the success of earlier phases of SCALE, which from March 2024 to July 2025 saw three Ohmio Lift autonomous shuttles operating across the NEC campus. Until now, the deployment had stopped before the busy Bickenhill Parkway roundabout, making this latest phase the most ambitious real-world operation of the shuttles to date.
Additional support for this latest deployment is being provided by Liftango, who specialise in demand‑responsive transport, fixed‑route, and carpool systems across the world, working with major bus operators, and government transport agencies. Their UK‑based team is supporting the operational delivery of the deployment, providing real‑time vehicle coordination, passenger trip scheduling, dynamic routing and live shuttle tracking.
Visitors to the NEC, Resorts World, and Birmingham Business Park are encouraged to come and experience autonomous transport first hand. There is no need to book in advance, people can simply turn up and take a ride. Passengers can also view the route and track shuttle locations in real time via the new SCALE Project website: https://thescaleproject.io/. The deployment operates Tuesday to Thursday, 10am – 3pm and will run until Thursday 26 March 2026.
Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Planning, said:
“Seeing the autonomous shuttles travel the full 7km route for the first time is a major milestone for SCALE. Extending the deployment across a more complex environment gives us invaluable insight into how autonomous transport can integrate safely and seamlessly into busy public settings. We’re excited to invite visitors, workers, and residents to come and experience this technology for themselves as we continue shaping the future of shared transport here in Solihull.”
Lori McDonagh, Marketing, Community and Business Development Manager at Birmingham Business Park, said:
“As a destination that welcomes up to 10,000 visitors every day, we’re always looking for innovative ways to improve connectivity and enhance the experience for everyone who works here or comes to the park. Hosting the full‑route deployment of the SCALE autonomous shuttles is an exciting step forward, giving our community the chance to engage directly with this exciting technology.
Grant Fraser, UK Business Development Director, Liftango added:
“We’re proud to be joining the SCALE consortium at such a pivotal moment. Supporting the first full route deployment with our real-time mobility platform demonstrates how digital infrastructure and autonomous technology can work hand in hand. SCALE is showing what the future of shared, sustainable transport can look like, and we’re excited to help bring that vision to life.”
The award-winning SCALE project is delivered by a consortium led by Solihull Council, with partners including WMG at the University of Warwick, Coventry University, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), Ohmio, the NEC, Coventry City Council, IPG, dRISK and now Liftango.
Dean Zabrieszach, CEO of Ohmio, said:
“Launching the full 7km SCALE route is a major step forward for autonomous transport in the UK. Moving beyond a campus environment and operating across a live, mixed-traffic network demonstrates We are proud to be working alongside Solihull Council and the SCALE consortium to show how autonomous mobility can deliver practical, accessible and sustainable transport solutions that people can experience the maturity, safety and real-world readiness of Ohmio’s autonomous shuttle technology. today.”
The project is funded through the UK Government’s CAM Pathfinder programme, delivered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.
