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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

What automation challenges are unique to the transit sector?

The complexity of operating in an urban environment is complicated by multimodal interactions with bicycles, emergency vehicles, pedestrians, etc. A fully-automated transit vehicle would need to be able to distinguish between bystanders and would-be passengers, who are actively walking toward the vehicle or waiting at a designated stop.

FTA is exploring potential non-technical challenges, such as federal policies regarding procurement, accessibility, labor, and other topics. The existing policies were all written with the assumption of a human operator.