Abstract
With ever growing automation of public transport automated shuttles offer an attractive alternative in areas where traffic regulations limit the deployment of large buses (city centres) or where low degrees of utilization renders the manual vehicles operation non-economical (last mile). The low capacities of shuttles in combination with the human factor (driver or conductor) makes capacity management a greater challenge for the user. Capacity management describes the allocation of available seats in a vehicle, e.g., when buying a ticket. In this paper, we present the results of series of studies where capacity management in automated shuttles has been tested via instruments that are currently available in public transit (audio announcements, in-shuttle displays, booking apps). We found that measures during and after boarding are not sufficient and that capacity management in automated shuttle requires a more detailed planning of pre-boarding stages; when boarding automated shuttles as opposed to non-automated public buses the flexibility is reduced. The paper concludes with discussion and recommendations for an optimal capacity management d.
Highlights
Be it in the air, on rails, or on roads: transportation has seen increasing degrees of automation which resulted in a lesser need for direct manual control by human operators over the last decades
Capacity Management in Automated Shuttles there is a risk of endangering the work prospects of professional drivers, there is a chance to open up new avenues and connect sparsely populated areas and traffic densities—the socalled “last mile”
We presented the results from three different studies on capacity management in automated small-capacity shuttle, which were conducted within the Austrian flagship project
Summary
Be it in the air, on rails, or on roads: transportation has seen increasing degrees of automation which resulted in a lesser need for direct manual control by human operators over the last decades. Capacity Management in Automated Shuttles there is a risk of endangering the work prospects of professional drivers, there is a chance to open up new avenues and connect sparsely populated areas and traffic densities—the socalled “last mile”. When it comes to economic viability, the vehicle can only justify its purpose if it is truly autonomous—if there is labour involved in order for the vehicle to operate, the cost-saving effect due to the automation would be lost. This means that a human driver or conductor should not be present—be it for driving the vehicle or interacting with the passengers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
