Autonomous mobility: A breakthrough for rural areas

The latest study by DB Regio on improving public transport through autonomous vehicles confirms what experts have long suspected: self-driving public transport is not a futuristic gadget, but the necessary catalyst for the mobility transition. While politicians in metropolitan areas are trying to push private transport out of city centers by reducing parking spaces and applying regulatory pressure, rural areas often lack competitive alternatives.

The problem is systemic. People who commute from rural areas to cities today are often confronted with infrastructure that cannot compete with cars in terms of price or time. The resulting chicken-and-egg problem—low demand leads to poor supply and vice versa—cannot be solved by subsidies alone.
The €9 ticket has proven that citizens are willing to make the switch. But pricing policy alone cannot remedy structural network deficits.

This is where autonomy comes in. It is the answer to the “last mile” problem – and also the “first mile” problem. Autonomous shuttles and frequent service without the exploding personnel costs of traditional public transportation can make public transportation on-demand. It is no longer just about getting people from A to B, but about delivering on a seamless mobility promise.

Admittedly, widespread implementation will take years, if not decades.
But the technology is ready. What must follow now is the political courage to roll it out. If we want to achieve the climate targets in the transport sector, we must stop simply making car travel more difficult—we must use the possibilities offered by autonomous transport to simply make public transport better.

Drones reported on the new study by DB Regio here: https://www.drones-magazin.de/en/articles/study-shows-autonomous-driving-makes-public-transport-cheaper-and-better