[2][3] The CAVForth pilot was first announced in November 2018, having secured £4.35 million in part funding from the UK Government's Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

[4] Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis constructed an Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC equipped with radar, optical cameras, LiDAR and ultrasound sensors to enable self-driving capability, which was subjected to a series of technical trials at Stagecoach Manchester's Sharston depot in March 2019.

[8][9] The CAVForth scheme has been developed with funding from and partnership between bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, Fusion Processing, the Stagecoach Group, Transport Scotland, the Napier University and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

[10] The pilot scheme was set to commence passenger-carrying service as early as mid-2020,[11] however delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the first trials of five Enviro200AVs limited to 50 mph (80 km/h) along the CAVForth1 route take place over two weeks in April 2022.

[2][3] This was reduced to a single Enviro200AV during 2024, then in December 2024, Stagecoach East Scotland announced they were withdrawing the AB1 on 14 February 2025 due to low passenger numbers making the service unsustainable to run.