Darwin Autonomous Shuttle

The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle service was originally launched in November 2021. For the last three and a half years, the little yellow shuttle has been a familiar sight at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, making it the longest-running self-driving passenger service in the UK.

After driving itself around the campus for a total distance of almost 10,000 miles, the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle is now ready to begin serving other locations. On 20 May 2025, one of the two shuttles set off on its journey north to start a new life in Liverpool.

On 27 March, the Satellite Applications Catapult launched the UK Autonomous and Connected Earth (UK-ACE) Connected Capability Network (CCN). Darwin was delighted to attend the kick-off, which took place at the Catapult’s headquarters at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

The 2024 ABI Conference, organised by the Association of British Insurers, was held on 27 February. This annual event is a chance for insurers to network and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry.

Darwin was at the conference to introduce our new autonomous shuttle, the second vehicle to be added to the existing Darwin Autonomous Shuttle service, in collaboration with Aviva, the European Space Agency, the UK Space Agency and the University of Salford. We’re sharing data from the service with Aviva to help them develop insurance products for self-driving vehicles.

In late 2021, insurer Aviva and autonomous vehicle operator Darwin Innovation Group partnered to launch the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle, the longest-running self-driving passenger service in the UK. Now, after two years of operation, Aviva and Darwin have teamed up with the University of Salford to add a second self-driving shuttle to the service.

On 28 February 2024, Darwin was honoured and delighted to welcome Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia to our UK headquarters, six months after our own visit to him at Serbia’s White Palace. The prince and his son Alexander paid a visit to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, where they learnt about the campus and Darwin’s work there.