Particularly in rural areas, autonomous shuttle and on-demand bus systems offer the potential to make mobility services more flexible, demand-oriented, and cost-effective. Various pilot projects in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Bad Berka, Ilmenau, and Weimar are testing and scientifically evaluating how these systems could be deployed in Thuringia and beyond. These activities are being consolidated within the newly established Competence Center for Automated and Connected Driving (AVF) in public transport, led by the Chair of Transport System Planning at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
