Automated buses are revolutionizing public transportation

Connected Mobility Digital Transformation

ROBERTA is a flagship project across Austria for the operation of automated buses in local public transit. The project consortium consists of 19 partners from the transportation sector, academia, and industry. They are developing the foundations for integrating highly automated buses with more than eight seats into the existing public transit system. The project consortium is investigating how existing technologies—ranging from highly automated buses to remote monitoring systems—can be adapted to Austrian conditions.

ROBERTA: Automatisierte Busse revolutionieren ÖPNV © iStock/ViewApart/FH OÖ

Automated bus operations are not only being tested from a technical standpoint. The project also aims to establish the organizational, legal, and operational prerequisites for safe and reliable deployment in regular scheduled service. Only electric buses with Level 4 automation will be used, accompanied by trained safety personnel. A centralized, scalable remote fleet management system monitors the vehicles.

The project involves real-world deployment in pilot regions in Upper Austria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Styria. In Upper Austria, a test route approximately ten kilometers long is planned from the Pregarten train station to Hagenberg, which will be integrated into the existing public transit network. Operations will be carried out by regional transit companies in collaboration with state governments, transit authorities, municipalities, and other relevant stakeholders.

ROBERTA aims to lay the groundwork for the scalable operation of automated buses within the public transit system, particularly in terms of empirical data on costs, travel times, staffing, availability, planning, and user acceptance. Additionally, the project team is working with social partners on ideas for creating jobs and generating economic value in Austria. This may include, for example, new job roles such as safety operations or remote fleet management.

The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure (BMIMI) is funding the project with 3.5 million euros through the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), and the State of Upper Austria (Departments of Infrastructure and Economy) has pledged one million euros in funding (subject to a state parliament resolution).

ROBERTA – Real wOrld automated Bus opERaTion Austria

Project Management:

University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Steyr Campus, Logistics Center

Project Partners in Upper Austria:

Automotive Cluster, Business Upper Austria – Upper Austrian Economic Agency GmbH
(Lead for the Dissemination & Commercialization Work Package)
DigiTrans GmbH (Lead for the Upper Austria Pilot Region; Lead for the Pilot Regions Work Package)
KEBA Group AG (Passenger Assistance System on the Bus)
OÖ Verkehrsverbund-Organisations GmbH Nfg.& Co KG (Planning and Scheduling of Buses in the Upper Austria Pilot Region)
Robert Bosch AG (Charging Management, Connectivity, and Cybersecurity)
Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH (Evaluation and Data Processing)
Wilhelm Welser Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH (Bus Operator for the Upper Austria Pilot Region)

Additional Project Partners:

ALP.Lab GmbH (Lead for the Styria and Carinthia Pilot Regions)
ANDATA Entwicklungstechnologie GmbH
Eustacchio Andreas Renato Angelo, Ph.D.
Graz Energy Agency Ges.m.b.H
Graz-Köflacher Rail and Bus Operations GmbH
Gerald Windisch – eMobility consult (Lead for the Tyrol pilot region)
Innsbruck Public Transport and Stubaitalbahn GmbH
Irene Fuchs
JOANNEUM RESEARCH Research Company mbH
Austrian Road Safety Board
Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH

Duration:

1.2.2026-31.1.2030