Digibus Austria: Automated driving in local public transport

In the new Austrian lead project “Digibus Austria” is currently researching and testing the reliable and safe operation of automated minibuses in local public transport. Test drives for research purposes are performed in Salzburg and Lower Austria. Fluidtime is responsible for integrating the new transport offer into a regional mobility system.

In the future, moving minibuses could be used in local passenger transport as transporters to and from intermodal mobility nodes or for the development of local centres. In the new Austrian pilot project “Digibus Austria”, methods, technologies and models for the reliable and safe operation of automated vehicles for local public transport will be developed and tested over the next three years in a regional, intermodal mobility system in order to further improve the independence and driving safety of such vehicles.

The results of the pilot project “Digibus Austria” will form the basis an Austrian reference model for the real testing and operation of highly or fully automated vehicles in local public transport.

Test drives on public and non-public test tracks

All methods, technologies and models will be tested in the pilot project “Digibus Austria” on one non-public and two public regional test tracks in Salzburg and Lower Austria. The first test drives for research purposes will take place in the Salzburg municipality of Koppl from June 2018. The test drives on public roads will help to test specially developed concepts for interaction with passengers and other road users. A trained operator will be on board for all test drives on public routes. On non-public routes, the minibus should be able to handle different driving scenarios completely autonomously.

Fluidtime and „Digibus Austria“

As part of the project, Fluidtime integrates the Digibus into a regional mobility system and connects it with local public transport. Further partners are Virtual Vehicle Research Center, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, University of Salzburg – Center for Human-Computer Interaction, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences – Institute for Transport, Factum Chaloupka & Risser OHG, Kapsch TrafficCom AG, PRISMA solutions EDV-Dienstleistungen GmbH, Commend International GmbH, HERRY Consult GmbH, ÖBB-Holding AG, EasyMile SAS.

The pilot project runs from April 2018 to March 2021 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology with 2.5 million euros as part of the “Mobility of the Future” research line. The total costs amount to over 4 million euros.

Further information on the pilot project will be published at www.digibus-austria.at.

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