1. A Literature Review on Fully Autonomous Buses
Mojdeh Azad,Nima Hoseinzadeh,Candace Brakewood,Christopher R. Cherry,Lee D. Han
A Literature Review on Fully Autonomous Buses
Mojdeh Azad, Nima Hoseinzadeh, Candace Brakewood, Christopher R. Cherry, Lee D. Han
Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, University of Tennessee, TN USA
Take Away Message
Results
This study systematically reviewed the existing literature on fully autonomous buses from a total of 37 articles.
Based on the literature, five main interrelated themes emerged: technology, user acceptance, safety, social and economic aspects, and policies and regulations.
Autonomous bus research varies by geography; approximately 60% of studies on autonomous buses have been conducted in Europe with half of them being based in the CityMobil2 project.
Number of reviewed studies in each theme (left) and Number of studies per year by location (right) (n=37; some studies considered multiple locations)
Number of reviewed studies in each theme
Number of studies per year by location
Introduction
Conclusion
Within the broader topic of autonomous vehicles, a small but growing amount of research has been carried out specifically on bus transit and full autonomy.
Autonomous buses can be defined as “a vehicle with rubber tires which - given its dimensions and its steering system - can be used in ordinary road traffic without geographical restriction, even if only in reduced power mode or at reduced speed.”
This study systematically reviewed the existing literature on fully autonomous buses and identified 5 main themes.
5 main themes are highly related. Technology development is associated with potential increases in safety and reductions in operating costs due to removing a driver from buses. However, user acceptance and perceived safety/security studies generally found that passengers prefer to have staff on board autonomous buses, which could negate the operational cost savings.
Planners and operators of autonomous bus systems should strive to find the best combination of operational policies that achieve the potential benefits (e.g., Operational cost savings) while addressing user concerns about safety and security.
In the United States, there are some newly funded research projects and a small number of real-world demonstration projects, such as those in Minnesota and Las Vegas. However, autonomous bus demonstrations and accompanying research projects appear to be growing at a faster rate in Europe.
Several important gaps are apparent in the literature:
Policymakers and experts have not developed systematic frameworks for legal issues and liability of autonomous buses.
The impacts of autonomous bus technology on labor have not been comprehensively studied, despite the fact that this could be a potential barrier to implementation.
There is limited literature pertaining to performance measurement.
THEME #5:
POLICIES, REGULATION, AND LEGAL ISSUES
Defining automation and needs are key topics.
Europeans are leaders (compared to Americans) in manufacturing and deploying autonomous buses.
THEME #1: TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Safety and security are important issues that should be considered.
In-vehicle security is a major concern based on user surveys.
New policies and regulations should be implemented to help employers, employees, and transit agencies being prepared for the future changes and demands.
Goal is to minimize the negative effect of autonomous bus technology while maximizing the positive aspects of it.
THEME #3:
SAFETY
THEME #4:
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS
Most surveys of user reveal a relatively positive attitude and acceptance to autonomous buses.
Having an onboard employee, age, gender, nationality, fare cost, user enjoyment of the system, performance, safety and security concerns are some important factors that influence users’ acceptance.
The impacts of re-sizing and re-arranging transit systems are important and studies should consider vehicle fixed costs, new fuel, and other related factor.
Costs of associated job displacements and adjustment process is another main issue.
THEME #2:
USER ACCEPTANCE 1
Method
The types of publications considered for this review were primarily peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings. Reports from large ongoing governmental autonomous bus projects were also included.
The search process used the following keywords: ‘autonomous transit’, ‘autonomous bus’, ‘autonomous shuttle’, ‘automated public transport’, ‘driverless bus’, ‘driverless shuttle’, ‘automated road transport’, ‘autonomous mobility services’, ‘shared automated mobility’, ‘autonomous transport system’, or ‘future bus’.
Three electronic academic databases were used to identify paper: Google Scholar, Transport Research International Documentation (TRID), and Web of Science.
1,600 papers in Google Scholar + 30 in TRID and Web of Science
Published after English language
600 Papers
Initial review of titles and abstracts
37 Articles
1: Sinner, M., Weidmann, U., & Nash, A. (2017). What’s a Bus? Defining Buses and Trains in the Age of Automation. Paper presented at the Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.