Autonomous shuttles - 4 factors of regulation in Germany

There are more than 50 autonomous shuttle bus projects only in Germany (source: VDV Association of German Transport Companies). So far, these have been pilot projects with a focus on testing technology, customer acceptance and the possibility of integration into local public transport. The shuttle providers are mainly SME companies or cooperation’s. With the investment of automotive supplier ZF in 2getthere, for the first time a 1st tier automotive supplier is also involved as a provider of autonomous shuttles in this growing market.

A small selection of autonomous shuttle and bus pilot projects in Germany:

• Bad Birnbach: First autonomous shuttle in Germany (source: ct 2018)
• Monheim am Rhein: Autonomously driving buses take their first ride in the smart city (source: Stadt Monheim am Rhein 2019)
• Hamburg: Autonomous bus now driving through Hamburg (source: Sat1.Regional 2020) 
• Mannheim, Friedrichshafen: RABus - real-life laboratory for automated bus operation in local public transport in cities and the countryside (source: ZF 2021)
• Berlin: BVG and federal government launch autonomous shuttle on Charité site (source: Gründerszene 2018)

Technological applicability is making significant progress, and pilot projects are demonstrating the beginnings of practicality, but are autonomous shuttles outside of pilots even allowed by law on public roads today? And if so, what are the legal requirements?

Regulation of automated driving for SAE Level 4

In addition to the regulatory activities for SAE Level 3 automated driving at the EU level, progress can be seen in individual countries that want to demonstrate their innovative strength or take on a pioneering role in the future technology of highly automated driving.

For example, Germany is planning to implement by the middle of 2021 local regulations that will provide a legal framework for highly automated shuttles (MaaS) according to SAE Level 4. These regulations, which will be evident in an expansion of the Stra?enverkehrsgesetz (the German Road Traffic Act, ?StVG“) through sect. 1d to 1l, are intended to serve as a transitional measure until harmonized international legislation for automated vehicles at this level will be implemented. Key elements of this regulation are the following four factors:

1. Functional requirements of the vehicle

For the practical implementation of the legislation in road traffic, a vehicle is needed that fulfils the defined requirements. The focus here will be on the execution of the dynamic driving task, which is characterized by collision avoidance and interaction with other road users, trajectory and speed planning and reaction to environmental conditions. If the vehicle encounters situations in which the dynamic driving task cannot be performed safely, it must be able to recognize this circumstance independently and initiate a minimal risk maneuver through an emergency driving function.

In addition to the described requirements for vehicle dynamics, Annex I of the legislative decree addresses the areas of testing and validation methods (e.g. criteria for lane change maneuvers according to UN R79), digital data storage, human-machine interface (HMI) and cyber security.

2. Classification of the operational area

Another key factor of the regulations will be the respective operating area, which is defined under sect. 1d para. 2 StVG as the locally and geographically determined public traffic area for highly automated vehicles. Due to the restriction of operation in predefined areas, these vehicles can consequently not be assigned to SAE Level 5, but only to SAE Level 4. The determination of one or more defined operating areas for a vehicle must be made in the first step by the owner, so that the authority responsible under national law can approve them in the next step. However, the required characteristics of the operating range are not fully defined in the individual case. The only restriction imposed by the legislator is that operating areas can only be defined in the public road space.

3. Technical supervision as a fallback level

An additional factor will be the changing role of the user. The clear assignment of roles to the vehicle driver, which is currently still presupposed by regulations at EU level to control the vehicle, is no longer intended in this regulation. Instead, the driving process will be monitored by a technical supervisor who can deactivate the vehicle in operation (sect. 1e para. 2 cl. 8 StVG) and release certain driving maneuvers (sect. 1d para. 3 StVG). According to sect. 1f para. 1 cl. 3 StVG, the responsibility for fulfilling the technical supervision lies with the owner, although the legislator makes it possible for one technical supervisor to supervise several vehicles by exempting them from a permanent supervision obligation. The technical supervision can also fulfil its duties via external access (e.g. from a control center). This also applies to the transmission of information to passengers in the event of the execution of a minimum risk maneuver (MRM). However, teleoperation (remote control) is not covered by the regulation.

4. Data storage: The owner's responsibility

The sensitive issue of data storage and processing is also addressed in a separate paragraph in the law's extension. When evaluating the corresponding sect. 1g StVG, it is noticeable that the manufacturer only has to fulfil his responsibility to inform and document, but the owner of the vehicle with autonomous driving function is given a responsibility to act. The storage of 13 different types of data (e.g. speed) and the provision of this data to the Federal Motor Transport Authority in predefined events (e.g. conflict scenarios) is therefore entirely the responsibility of the owner. This distribution of duties could prove to be an inhibiting factor for an implementation in the future.

Conclusion

In the current regulatory proposal of the Federal Republic of Germany, the focus is exclusively on highly automated shuttles, whose operation in public road traffic is thereby made possible from a regulatory perspective. This announced extension of the law is a first essential step in the regulation of highly automated shuttles and could set a precedent for further autonomous applications in road traffic.

Authors

• Dr. Joerg Sasse - Associated Partner - MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH
• Simon Leppelsack - Manager - MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH
• Tim Goldschmitt - Consultant- MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH