How do we make sure autonomous buses are available for all citizens?
Autonomous buses could be a great means for public transportation in our cities. But they need to be available and safe for all passengers. The Catapult project is aiming to improve and develop public transportation for the future. Autonomous buses are already being tested in several cities and researchers are making sure that they are safe and available for all citizens, including those with special needs.
Researchers from the project is now gathering data through interviews, surveys and tests to analyze the needs and experiences of the citizens. The Swedish data gathering exercise will commence in Linköping on the 15-16th of November and will be performed by RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) VTI (The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute) and Funktionsrätt Linköping. The participants will take short trips on a self-driving shuttle and share their experiences with the researchers. They will be asked to describe their feelings, thoughts, frustrations, and observations of the trip.
The results will contribute to the overall aim of improving guidelines and recommendations for increasing the inclusiveness and usability of publicly available autonomous transport.
The Catapult project is financed through JPI Urban Europe and is a collaboration between AustriaTech, RISE, KU Leuven and Factum.
The same sort of tests is being performed in Austria and Belgium. There is also a possibility to participate in a web survey, click here!