Paving the Road for Automated Buses in Public Transit: Technologies and Challenges

This paper examines the integration of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) in public transportation, focusing on automated buses. It identifies key challenges such as legislative frameworks, human factors, and infrastructural conditions that impede deployment in Europe. The paper proposes a combination of standardized processes and interfaces, scalable software architecture as well as V2X communication to address these issues. In addition, it discusses projects like MINGA, OTRACE, and Country2City-Bridge (C2CBridge) that exemplify the application of these technologies. Lastly, the gradual introduction of autonomous transport technologies, such as platooning, is recommended to evaluate and test the automated capabilities as well as build public confidence before full automation.