Problem statement

Autonomous vehicles can play a crucial role in public transport in the future, particularly for improving connections in rural areas, relieving the burden on existing systems, and contributing to climate protection and economic innovation. Despite numerous pilot projects, the use of autonomous vehicles in public transport is still in the demonstration or testing phase in many places. Significant hurdles remain for widespread implementation in regular operation. These include technical requirements, legal frameworks, road approval issues, economic viability, public acceptance, and organizational responsibilities. Smaller municipalities, in particular, face major challenges: a shortage of skilled workers, low procurement volumes, and differing regional conditions complicate the economically viable deployment of autonomous public transport systems. At the same time, significant potential only emerges with driverless operation at Level 4. In many places, reliable data is lacking to assess suitable areas of application, vehicle types, technical solutions, and economic conditions at an early stage.

Project Goal

The BRAVE10k project creates the conditions for the widespread implementation of autonomous driving in public transport. The goal is to move from today's pilot operation to an economically scalable, safe, and sustainable regular operation.
To this end, BRAVE10k is developing an open ecosystem of digital processes, AI-supported methods, and standardized interfaces. This will make the planning, preparation, tendering, execution, and approval of autonomous vehicles in public transport more efficient, comparable, and legally compliant.
The Institute for Transport Studies (IfV) contributes to classifying the traffic impacts of autonomous vehicles and systematically evaluating suitable operating conditions. The focus is on the question of under what conditions autonomous vehicles can be used effectively and what impact they have on traffic flow, demand, and mode choice. Methods are being developed to enable the early evaluation of suitable deployment areas and operating concepts, both in terms of their technical and operational feasibility and their traffic impacts. Microscopic traffic flow simulations, potential and demand analyses, and studies on the acceptance of autonomous public transport services will enable municipalities, transport companies, and other stakeholders to better assess expected demand and design operating concepts to ensure social acceptance, economic viability, and effective traffic management.

BRAVE10k thus reduces obstacles along the entire implementation chain, strengthens economies of scale, and improves the predictability and economic viability of autonomous public transport services. This creates the conditions for interoperable, safe, and supra-regionally scalable mobility solutions in public transport that view autonomous vehicles not as an isolated technology, but as a building block of an integrated public transport system.

Method

The IfV is contributing to BRAVE10k in two key work packages. The focus is on the traffic impacts of autonomous vehicles and the question of under what conditions autonomous public transport services will be accepted by passengers and can contribute to a more sustainable transport system.
One focus is on microscopic traffic flow simulation. The IfV is investigating how autonomous vehicles affect traffic flow and which traffic conditions are suitable for their use. To this end, an autonomous driving corridor and the simulation setup for building a digital twin are being defined. In addition, relevant data sources – such as floating car data, traffic signal plans, municipal traffic data, and public transport timetables – are being acquired, processed, and made available for modeling and calibration. Furthermore, a standardized driving behavior for autonomous vehicles is being specified for use in microscopic traffic flow simulations. The results will be incorporated into a guideline for simulating autonomous driving corridors.
Furthermore, the IfV is responsible for conducting the acceptance and needs analysis at a systemic level. This involves examining how autonomous vehicles should be designed and deployed in public transport to ensure passenger acceptance and achieve desired traffic effects, particularly a reduction in private motorized transport. To this end, existing research findings on the acceptance of autonomous public transport are being systematically evaluated and translated into a transferable methodology.
Based on this, the IfV is developing a potential and needs analysis applicable throughout Germany. Using the agent-based transport demand model mobiTopp, passenger potential will be spatially described, the impact of acceptance on mode choice will be mapped, and different operating concepts will be evaluated with regard to their traffic effects. The results will be prepared in a practical manner for public transport service planning and compiled into an acceptance guide. This guide will demonstrate how acceptance barriers can be reduced and the potential of autonomous mobility services in public transport can be effectively unlocked.