Northern Ireland's first self-driving shuttle service, named ‘Harlander', is set to conclude its successful pilot programme as planned at the end of this week.

The service, which utilised a 9-seater autonomous vehicle with a safety operator on board, has been operating on a 15–20 minute loop through the Titanic Quarter. It provided "last mile connectivity," linking the Titanic Halt Railway station to Catalyst, and connecting people to businesses, tourist attractions, and education facilities.

The pilot was initially scheduled to run from July to September but was extended for an additional month to secure further user feedback. Mike Dawson, People and Digital Transformation Director at Belfast Harbour, stated: "The Harlander pilot was Northern Ireland's first step towards having autonomous vehicles on publicly accessible roads and the project partners are all really proud of how it has been received, with incredibly high passenger satisfaction rates."

Research conducted during the pilot phase revealed a 92% satisfaction rate among users. The service proved most popular with commuters (making up 40% of passengers) and those in the 40–59 age demographic.

Belfast Harbour led the development alongside a consortium of partners, including eVersum, Oxa, Angoka, BT, and HORIBA MIRA. The consortium will now analyse the data and learnings from the programme.

The initiative received £11 million (or £11m) in joint government and industry funding, with £5.5 million (or £5.5m) coming through the Commercialising CAM programme.

Belfast Harbour expects to revisit its autonomous vehicle programme in 2026. The pilot information will also be shared with the UK Government to support their wider autonomy plans and incoming regulation.