LOG-ROBERTA - LOG-Real wOrld automated Bus opERaTion Austria

The ROBERTA project builds upon the technological development of fully automated buses (SAE-L4) and the increasing media coverage of tests in European cities. The project will examine the extent to which the current technological readiness of L4 buses makes them a viable addition to Austria's existing public transport network. Following this, ROBERTA will explore how to use automated buses to provide a mobility solution in Austria that maintains or improves upon today's public transport availability, both geographically and temporally. Additionally, the ROBERTA consortium seeks to strengthen its international competitive position and aims for the project's integration into future European projects and collaborations.

The overarching goal is to provide all user groups, regardless of age, gender, origin, or any personal mobility limitations, with a flexible, scalable, and inclusive mobility service. This will be achieved by supplementing the existing public transport system with fully automated buses (Level 4 automation with trained safety personnel), thereby contributing to the improvement of the public transport offering and shifting traffic volume towards public transport.

Several challenges must be addressed to achieve this goal. On the one hand, there is the complexity of existing solutions used by bus operators regarding their bus fleets and fleet management systems. ROBERTA strives for a supra-regional, scalable solution rather than a local "island operation." The regular operation in the pilot areas is not being developed as a single technological and procedural solution; instead, the aim is to create a framework that can be used in other regions of Austria. On the other hand, a challenge is adapting the planning processes (routes, tenders) from the perspective of transport associations to the changed requirements of automated buses, and integrating these process changes into the operational procedures of bus operators.

The project's long-term viability addresses various aspects, including:
* The evolution of vehicle costs, which are expected to decrease over the long term due to economies of scale.
* The design of the buses (with or without a driver's seat).
* Legal frameworks that regulate the safe and user-centric deployment of L4 buses and thereby affect economic feasibility (e.g., the necessity of safety drivers).
* User acceptance of automated buses.

ROBERTA's uniqueness on a European level is the integration of at least one commercially available L4 bus (M2/M3 type) into the existing public transport network of each of four selected pilot regions (representing urban, suburban, and rural environments) for a period of one year. The test routes have a length of 10 to 20 kilometers. The operational implementation of these bus services is the responsibility of the local transport operators in each pilot region. The broad acceptance and readiness to implement this project are guaranteed by the active support of the respective federal states and the social partners in all involved regions. This highlights the coordinated cooperation of all relevant stakeholders in the testing and scaling of autonomous mobility solutions in public transport.