How Autonomous Shuttles Are Improving Local Transportation

Study How Autonomous Shuttles Are Improving Local Transportation

2026-03-09 Source: KIT 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendor

Autonomous minibuses can improve local public transport and replace car journeys—as a KIT study has shown. The researchers investigated how reliably autonomous shuttles operate in everyday life, how the population reacts and what requirements need to be met.

Driverless shuttles can strengthen public transport, especially in rural areas.(Image: ZF Friedrichshafen) — Driverless shuttles can strengthen public transport, especially in rural areas.
(Image: ZF Friedrichshafen)

"Automated services can significantly improve mobility in rural areas - provided they are reliable and the users understand what the vehicle can do," says Professor Martin Kagerbauer from the Institute of Transportation (IFV) at KIT. The results come from the evaluation of 1,600 test drives with passengers in the cities of Mannheim and Friedrichshafen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

A Sense of Security is Crucial

The surveys show that many people are open to autonomous vehicles. However, it is crucial that they feel safe while driving. "On the one hand, it's about the safety of the technical systems and, on the other, about potentially aggressive or threatening passengers," says Christian Klinkhardt from IFV. An easily visible interior, a direct connection to the control center and comprehensible information during the journey are important.

New Mobility Options for Rural Areas

The analysis of the test drives shows: Autonomous shuttles can make everyday journeys - such as to the train station, to the shops or to school—easier and replace previously necessary car journeys. "This opens up new possibilities, especially in outlying areas," explains Klinkhardt. The prerequisite is that the shuttles run reliably, are available on demand and can be easily integrated into existing ticket and information systems.

Responsibilities must also be clearly defined. "Who operates the vehicles and the software? Who takes responsibility if the autonomous system is not available? These are practical questions that don't play a role in traditional bus transportation," says Kagerbauer. Only when these roles are clearly distributed among vehicle manufacturers, software providers and municipal transport companies can reliable day-to-day operations be established, adds Klinkhardt.

Next Step: Shuttles Without Security Escort

The researchers believe that the next important step is a regularly licensed vehicle model that can be driven without a safety attendant. Only then will it be possible to implement larger model regions, as planned by the federal government. In the medium term, autonomous shuttles could improve mobility, particularly in places where buses rarely run today or where there is a lack of staff.

Neuer Ansatz zur schnelleren Fahrzeugmodellierung

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.