MUNICIPALITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Autonomous vehicles provide cities and municipalities with an enticing opportunity to develop mobility services. They complement conventional public transport and already offer “last-mile” solutions in several Finnish cities.
SUPPLEMENTING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORK
Public transport routes do not always extend to where they are needed. Route operation might not be profitable or possible, for example due to the large size of the buses or the infrastructure.
Robot buses supplement and expand the existing public transport network. The accessibility of residential areas improves when agile robot buses transport passengers as an extension to tramways, for example.
Future mobility solutions should be considered from day one in the design and zoning of new residential areas and street networks. Robot buses might be a reasonable option for feeder traffic from a train station to a residential area, for example, making it possible for the residents to leave their cars at home. Less land is needed with the reduced need for large parking places.
THE VARIOUS BENEFITS OF ROBOT BUSES
Robot buses can enhance the cost-efficiency and service level of public transport in many residential areas across different customer groups.
Passengers get closer to home or services when robot buses take care of the first/last mile. Passenger cars can be increasingly left at home or even abandoned altogether when the routing of public transport serves the passengers better.
Through-traffic in residential areas decreases, which increases the area’s safety and reduces emissions from traffic. E-buses and routes optimised for them themselves contribute to cities’ carbon neutrality targets.
PLANNING OF ROUTES
The planning of routes always begins with a review of the area’s special characteristics and customer needs. The planning takes into account the area’s demand and passenger flows – at which times and in which areas there is demand. This helps to optimise the routes to match passenger needs.
The routes should reach the areas that existing lines do not. Accessibility is also important. It is necessary to ensure unobstructed access to the buses and plan the routes so that they serve passengers with limited mobility. Boarding and leaving the vehicle should be safe.
Economic factors are also considered in route planning. Cost-efficient solutions and the optimum use of resources are important factors to keep city traffic sustainable and economically feasible.
