Automated Vehicle (AV) advancement is being pursued intensely by the technology and automobile industries. An analysis by the Brookings Institution found that from 2014 to 2017, over $80 billion was invested in autonomous technology, which is likely to be surpassed by 2018’s amount. AV development is progressing in the public transportation industry through pilot programs, partnerships, private sector involvement, and research by the federal government and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). Public transit agencies will face complex challenges in implementing AV technology over the coming decades, though there is hope that it will lead to improved operations, more efficient cost structures, and enhanced safety.
This paper seeks to summarize and incorporate findings from several significant research works such as NCHRP’s Impacts of Laws and Regulations on CV and AV Technology Introduction in Transit Operations, FTA’s Transit Bus Automation Project: Transferability of Automation Technologies, and U.S. DOT’s Low-Speed Automated Shuttles: State of Practice. U.S. DOT’s Automated Vehicles 3.0 report is also referenced
