ABSTRACT
Shared automated vehicles (SAVs) and driverless buses (aBuses) equipped with dynamic ride-sharing (DRS) technology have the potential to transform the accessibility and functionality of public transport systems across the globe. Like any public service, resources for public transport are limited and labor costs associated with bus operations often impact public agencies, particularly in cases when they are required to retain service coverage in unproductive areas for socioeconomic or political reasons. While ensuring equitable access to health care, education, employment, and other opportunities is imperative, a traditional human-operated 12–18-meter (40–60-foot) bus may not be the most efficient and effective method of serving many persons’ trips, particularly those in areas of low population and/or job densities and without well-connected street and sidewalk networks. While demand-responsive, van-based services have been piloted in many settings, labor cost remains a serious issue. Implementing innovative, autonomous, and demand-driven products into legacy public transport systems with limited precedent will require flexibility and compromise. But the benefits of more convenient, more demand-adaptive, and more cost-effective services may be unbeatable, for both operators and riders, in the long term. This chapter synthesizes the state of practice in public transport applications of SAVs, aBuses, and DRS technologies and explores their long-term implications for achieving better personal transport systems for all.
