Feasibility of Driverless Buses on the South East BuswayREECE HOUSTON N8888612QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

South East Busway• Major section of Brisbane’s BRT• Two lane, two way road• Extends from the Queen Street Bus Station

to Eight Mile Plains Station• Key locations include Mater Hospital, Griffith

University and South Bank• Provides connection to other Eastern

Busway, Inner Northern Busway and Boggo Road Busway

Why should driverless buses be considered on the South East Busway?• Provides fast and convenient

service through out most of the day

• During peak times suffers from bus queuing and passenger overcrowding

• Mostly at high density stations, Mater Hill, Cultural Centre

Current driverless bus technology• Automatic door control • Doors open automatically on arrival• Sensors used to prevent doors closing

• Collision avoidance and warning• Sensors linked to brakes• Prevents crashes caused by driver error• Increased safety

Current driverless bus technology

• Autonomous guidance• Replaces actions of a

conductor• Information obtained

through sensors and position reference technology (GPS, optic, magnetic markings

• Precision docking • Optical guidance or magnetic

sensors• Docking in exact location • Vehicle aligns precisely with

curb

Successful driverless bus trials• China Bus company Yutong• 32.6km journey around busy

streets• Performed complex driving

actions traffic lights, lane changes, overtaking

• BRT corridor in Brazil• Experimented with autonomous

guidance and precision docking• Reduction in dwell times• Increased operating speeds• Increased comfort and satisfaction

Benefits of a driverless bus service of the South East Busway

• Reducing dwell times due to precision docking• Easy access for eldery/disabled• Increased operation speeds, capacities, smaller

headways• Increased safety and reduced risk of accidents• Increased rider comfort and satisfaction• Attract more ridership• Efficient driving reducing emissions• Help solve problems such as bus queuing and

overcrowding

Challenges of driverless buses on South East Busway

• Technology for a fully autonomous system still requires more testing for reliability

• Cost of implementation• Integration problems• Legal and liability issues

Conclusions

• Driverless bus system capable of providing significant benefits to service and efficiency

• Fully driverless system not quite ready for widespread usage

• Too many barriers to implementation • Very expensive• Legislation issues• Reliability In complex situations

Recommendations

• Fully autonomous driverless service not available at this point in time

• Driverless possible in the near future• Semi-autonomous systems could still provide benefits to the

busway• Precision docking would allow for lower dwell times and increased

accessibility• Collision avoidance help reduce the possibility of accidents