RMV and Deutsche Bahn are planning a large-scale test with self-driving shuttles. In Darmstadt and in the district of Offenbach, they should supplement the on-demand offer and take part in public road traffic as normal.
You use the app to call a shuttle and get on. There is no sign of a driver far and wide. The vehicle takes the passenger independently and at normal speed through public transport to the destination.
Driverless shuttles planned as part of public transport
This scenario is to be tested in Darmstadt and in the Offenbach district as early as next year. This is the plan of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) and Deutsche Bahn (DB), which were announced at a press conference by the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV).
The on-demand offers with fully autonomous vehicles are to be fully integrated into local public transport. “Only with driverless shuttles that travel at normal speed will we create public transport that people can board anywhere and anytime,” said DB Regional Manager Jörg Sandvoß.
The only difference: no more drivers
The plan is to use Nio ES8 electric SUVs with up to seven seats. In Darmstadt, they are to supplement the fleet of the on-demand service “Heiner Liner”. When ordering, the guest can choose whether a conventional or an autonomous vehicle should pick them up at the virtual stop, explained Lennart Sauerwald from the transport company Heag mobilo.
Apart from the lack of a driver, there will be no difference to the previous offer, according to Sauerwald. Route network and fare structure remained the same. Initially, there will be a security person on board who can intervene if necessary. But this “operator” should also be omitted later.
RMV: “On-demand only economical without a driver”
RMV sees itself as a pioneer when it comes to on-demand service. “In the RMV we have the largest on-demand mobility network in Germany with nine partners,” said Managing Director Knut Ringat. Large-scale, however, these offers are only economical in autonomous operation. That’s why we decided to do the test.
In order for the shuttles to get by without a driver, they have to have a lot of technology. Their cameras and sensors recognize objects, measure distances and register movements. The cars have several braking systems and a positioning and navigation system. The software that processes all this information is also important in order to safely control the vehicle.
So far only small tests
The law on autonomous driving, which came into force in May 2021, serves as the legal basis for the project. It allows driverless motor vehicles to be used on public roads in Germany in defined operating areas and regulates the technical requirements and obligations of the people involved.
RMV has already tested driverless minibuses with passengers with the EASY (Electric Autonomous Shuttle for You) project. They were traveling at low speeds on company premises or for short distances in public. For a year, a shuttle trundled 700 meters up and down the banks of the Main in Frankfurt. There were further tests at the Wiesbaden Helios clinics, at the Eberbach monastery (Rheingau-Taunus) and in the spa area of Bad Soden-Salmünster (Main-Kinzig).
Transport association expects high acceptance
The RMV rates the response to the tests as consistently positive. The projects have shown that there are “no significant reservations” among passengers about self-driving shuttles, the association said on request. According to RMV, 89 percent of the passengers on board felt safe during the tests in Bad Soden-Salmünster, and 80 percent would have traveled without an operator.
There is no exact schedule for the announced pilot project yet. “Various financing options are still being discussed,” said Sauerwald. According to RMV Managing Director Knut Ringat, deployment is expected in the second half of 2023.
Bahn: “Great potential in rural areas”
DB regional boss Sandvoß is convinced that rural regions in particular will benefit from the new technology. “Many people think of big cities and metropolitan areas when they think of autonomous driving. But there are already good subway and suburban train networks there,” he said. However, the new offers would be used where there was previously little transport infrastructure. “We see great potential there.”
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