Review Article

Fully Autonomous Buses: A Literature Review and Future Research Directions

Table 3

Key studies on safety aspects of autonomous buses.

Author(s) (year)TypeLocationMethodsKey findings

Lutin & Kornhauser (2014)Conference proceeding (TRB)United StatesCase study (cost and benefit analysis and capacity analysis for one transit agency)(i) The implementation of collision avoidance technology on buses can be cost effective
(ii) CACC (Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control) can increase the capacity of an exclusive bus lane
(iii) Collision avoidance and CACC are promising technologies

Sessa et al. (2015)ReportEurope, US, and AsiaStated preference survey and workshop with experts (, from academia, automotive industry, city and local authorities)(i) Two extreme scenarios (“automated private car ownership vs. automated car-fleet sharing”) and four different urban typologies (“urban sprawl, city network, small compact city, and rural/tourist areas”) were considered in this online survey of experts
(ii) Safety impacts are expected to be positive; for example, there could be a 90% reduction in accidents by employing different circulation rules
Lutin et al. (2016)Conference proceeding (TRB)United StatesSafety analysis and export opinion with road map(i) Safety analysis showed the number of bus-related injuries, casualties, and liability expenses is currently increasing
(ii) The proposed road map calls for partnerships between stakeholders by educating the industry, creating new programs, and identifying funding sources

Piao et al. (2016)Conference proceedingEuropeSurvey (, La Rochelle, France)(i) Survey respondents were concerned with passenger security, particularly in the evening and at night
(ii) Onboard security is a major concern
(iii) Onboard employees could reduce safety concerns and increase willingness to use autonomous buses

Montes et al. (2017)JournalEuropeDesign/experiment (of automatic control for articulated buses)(i) The experimental testing of three separate control systems (velocity, steering, and safety) yielded good results
(ii) The proposed safety system properly stops the bus or reduces the velocity based on the distance between a bus and an obstacle

Portouli et al. (2017)Conference proceedingEuropeSurvey (, Trikala, Greece)(i) Survey respondents perceive autonomous minibuses to be somewhat safer than conventional buses in terms of crashes with other vehicles or pedestrians
(ii) Survey respondents perceive autonomous minibuses to be as secure as conventional buses in terms of attacks

Salonen (2018)JournalEuropeSurvey ( in Vantaa, Finland)(i) Survey respondents perceive traffic safety to be better in driverless shuttle buses than conventional buses
(ii) 64 percent of respondents felt that driverless shuttle buses were worse than conventional buses in terms of in-vehicle security (probably due to a lack of driver)

CityMobil2 Project.