The shift towards sustainable transportation has led to the expansion of public transit as a central objective. An innovative step in this direction is the introduction of automated minibusses, which have been deployed in Monheim am Rhein since February 2020 as Germany\u27s first automated minibus fleet in regular service. The aim of the city and Bahnen Monheim as the operator of the small bus fleet is to make public transit more attractive through the automated minibus service, increase traffic safety, and familiarize the population with automated driving and, thus, digitization.
The Institute for Transport Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) accompanied the introduction and operation of the automated minibus fleet in Monheim am Rhein over a period of two years with empirical studies to explore the acceptance and impacts on the mobility behavior of the Monheim population. By conducting repeated passenger interviews, usage patterns and behavioral changes over time since the introduction of the service are identified. Interviews with the accompanying personnel of the automated minibusses provide additional insights into the acceptance of the novel service. Based on a household survey among all residents of Monheim am Rhein, representative insights into the attitudes of users, especially non-users, are obtained.
The results show that primarily women, older people, and individuals with mobility impairment use the existing service. For the latter two groups, in particular, the automated minibus serves as a facilitator of mobility. The integration of automated minibusses into the existing bus network has increased the accessibility of public transit and further promoted its use. Overall, high satisfaction levels among users of the automated minibusses and a clear willingness to use them among non-users are observed. Safety concerns regarding the automation technology of the automated minibusses cannot be identified among the residents, partly due to the presence of accompanying personnel. Of greater importance is the service function perceived by the accompanying personnel themselves, as well as by the passengers, such as assistance with boarding and exiting. Despite the generally positive perception, the accompanying research identifies expansion potential of the automated minibus service to reach a larger user group. This includes measures, such as increasing travel speeds and improving driving behavior, as well as expanding the service area, such as intermodal use as a feeder to the nearest train station. The study suggests considering further information campaigns to promote a unified understanding of automated driving and the automated minibus service. This can create additional acceptance for the current weaknesses of the service
