Investigation and Analysis of Necessary Tasks and Responses for Unmanned Automated Bus in Challenging Situations

The bus driver shortage has become a social issue, particularly escalating in rural areas due to the labour shortage outside of urban regions. In order to solve these issues, Level 4 automated buses are expected. One of the key advantages of Level 4 automated buses is their potential for unmanned operation. To realize no drivers on a bus, remote surveillance is mandatory. For the introduction of level 4 automated bus service, the necessary tasks in both typical and emergency situations should be clear and the responses for these tasks should be defined. We already investigated the tasks typically performed by bus drivers by observing their actions from when a passenger boards and analysed the task by using bowtie analysis. By using these results, we discussed with bus driver and bus operation company about how to respond these tasks by considering the role, user acceptance and feasibility of the bus service because these three points should be considered for the introduction of automated bus service. In addition, the responses should be discussed with not only engineers in automated vehicles but also real bus driver and bus operation company staff. It is highly expected that these results and knowledge are important and beneficial for companies and local governments who would like to consider the introduction of level 4 automated bus services.