Researchinsightsintoanautonomousfuture InvestigatingthepotentialandmeritsofConnectedandAutomatedMobilityforpublictransport Contents Foreword3 Overviewofthestatusquo4 Innovativefeasibilitystudies10 Insightsfrompractitioners15 Afutureofautonomouspublictransport?19 Wheredowegofromhere?31 Foreword Publictransportplaysavitalroleinthesmoothrunningofcitiesacrossthe UK.Itintersectswithmanyotherpublicpolicyareas,includingaccesstojobs,healthcareandeducation,initiativestoreducecarbonemissions,congestion,andairpollution,andanimprovedbuiltenvironmentwithmoreefficientandpeople-centricuseofspace. However,theimplementationofpublictransportsolutionsisoftenacostlyanddisruptiveendeavour,sometimesalsoresultinginunintendedconsequencesforsubsetsofthepopulation. Recentadvancesinautonomousvehicle(AV)technologyhavethepotentialtosignificantlyimpactpublictransportsystems.Itisthereforevaluabletoexplorehowsuchautonomouspublictransportsystemsmightwork,andassesstheassociatedopportunitiesandrisks.WhileConnectedandAutomatedVehicle(CAV)trialsareprevalentthroughouttheUKandfurtherafield,trialsusingCAVsforpublictransportarelimited.OnlyahandfuloftrialsaretakingplaceacrosstheUK,withthesuccessoftheseschemestill tobedetermined. InJanuary2023,theUK’sfirstzeroemissionautomatedbusbeganatrialinOxfordshire.Thiswasafundedtrialfora16-seat,fullyaccessiblesingledeckerbuswithasafetydriveronboardatalltimestoprovideapersonalisedserviceandinformationtopassengers.ThetrialwasdesignedtodemonstratetheapplicationofAVtechnologytoreal-worldserviceprovisionandconcludedattheendof2023. AnothernotableexampleisCAVForth,atrial offullyautonomousfull-sizedbusesinScotland,providingmobilitybetweenFifeandEdinburgh.Withthefirstpassengerscarriedin2023,thefleetiscomprisedoffivebuseswhichcancarryupto10,000passengersperweek.Thebusesoperate atSAELevel4,meaningtheyhaveatrainedsafetydriveronboardwhoisnotexpectedtotouchthecontrolswhilethevehicleisinautonomousmode1. During2023/24,Arupwasinvolvedinthreefeasibilitystudieswithmulti-partnerconsortiumstoassessthepossibilityofautonomouspublictransporttrialsinCambridge,EastBirminghamandMiltonKeynes.CommissionedbyTheCentretheConnectedAutonomousVehicles(CCAV)andInnovateUK,thesestudieswereintendedtoprovideevidenceofthecaseforchangeinthethreeregions.Thestudiesalsoexaminedtheeconomic,socialandenvironmentaleffectsoftheschemesaswellashigh-levelcostingsandchallengestocommercialisation. Thisreportaimstodisseminatethefindingsassociatedwiththethreestudies.ItofferskeyinsightsintohowConnectedandAutomatedMobility(CAM)couldrevolutionisethepublictransportlandscapeandconsidersthenextstepsfordeployingtheseservicesacrosstheUK. ThestudiesfoundthatCAMcouldhaveclearadvantagesforpublictransit,bringingwidersocial,economic,andenvironmentalbenefits.Weconcludedthat,onceascalablesolutionisidentifiedwithinasuitablecontext,CAMcouldhaveanobviousandfar-reachingimpactonpublictransportintheUKandbeyond Recentadvancesinautonomousvehicletechnologyhavethepotentialtosignificantlyimpactpublictransportsystems.Itisthereforevaluabletoassesstheassociatedopportunitiesandrisks. Anoteonterminology Throughoutthisreportweuse"ConnectedandAutomatedMobility(CAM)"toalignwiththelatestBSIFlex1890v5.02023-04.Whileweuse"CAM"asanall-encompassingterm,someusecaseswedescribeare"autonomous"ratherthanjust"automated",capableofentirelyautomatingthedrivingtaskwithnohumanintervention.Weusetheterm"autonomous",whereneeded,tobeclearonourintendedmeaning. LaraTabetAssociateLara.tabet@arup.com Overviewofthestatusquo AnintroductiontothebackgroundofCAM,whyitisneeded,thehistoryofitsdevelopmentandthevarioussub-modesandvehicleproviders. Researchinsightsintoanautonomousfuture4 WhydoweneedConnectedandAutomatedMobility? Mobilityisanessentialpartofourmodernwayoflife.Withoutit,oureconomicandsocialwellbeing,humaninteractions,andbusinesstransactionswouldbesignificantlycompromised.Itisnotsurprising,therefore,thatthereiscontinualpressuretoprovidemoreandbetterlevelsofmobility.However,improvedmobilitycanresultinundesirableconsequencesinourcities,includingcongestion,transport-relatedaccidents,airquality,andgreenhousegasemissions.Reducingorremovingthesedownsidesisaprerequisitefordevelopingsuccessfulnationalandlocalmobilitystrategiesforthefuture. Onewayofdeliveringimprovedmobilitywhilereducingoreliminatingthedownsidesistoencouragealarge-scalemigrationfromprivatetransport(mainlythecar)tosharedtransport(mainlypublicpublic-transitsystems).However,thescaleofthemigrationrequiredishuge.IntheUK,morethan90%2ofpassenger-kilometresarecurrentlyprovidedbyroadtransport,andmostofthisisbycar. Researchinsightsintoanautonomousfuture Traditionalformsofpublictransit(heavyrail,lightrail,metro,tramsandbuses)facesignificantchallengeswhenitcomestosolvingtheproblemofmigrationfromprivatetopublictransport. Rail-basedsystemsarebecomingincreasinglyunaffordable,andbusescanbeseentobeunreliable3.Tomeetfuturemobilitychallenges,ourcitiesandotherpublictransportprovidersmustfindnewwaysofdeliveringattractive,affordablemasstransitservices. ‘Attractive’publictransportm