National railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association (RMV) have begun the test operation of demand-responsive transportation vehicles with Level 4 automation in the Rhine-Main region of Germany.
The public transportation project, known as KIRA, is underway in Darmstadt and the district of Offenbach, where the companies say their first Level 4 autonomous vehicle is navigating “normal road traffic”. Level 4 automation enables these shuttles to operate autonomously within a defined area, making independent decisions for all driving maneuvers. During the test phase, a safety driver will remain on board.
The Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrtbundesamt) has granted the necessary permit for the Level 4 test drives to take place.
Testing phase
The companies say that six autonomous shuttles will gradually begin operations in parts of Darmstadt and the Offenbach district. These shuttles will serve the regional transportation companies HEAG mobilo and Kreisverkehrsgesellschaft Offenbach (kvgOF). Initially, passengers will not be permitted to ride in the KIRA shuttles, but interested residents will be able in the near future to apply to be test riders, booking the shuttles on-demand via a dedicated app.
KIRA, which stands for ‘AI-based regular operation of autonomous on-demand transport services’, is the first project in Germany to test Level 4 AVs for public transportation, according to the project leaders. All driving maneuvers will be monitored by technical supervision staff and the initial test drives will focus on evaluating Mobileye’s self-driving system, verifying map data accuracy and operational reliability.
The AVs will be operated by DB Regio Bus Mitte, with software for booking and route planning provided by DB subsidiary ioki, which integrates technology from various partners.
The test and implementation phase is scheduled to continue until the end of 2024, with an extension planned. The KIRA research project has received financial support from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the state of Hesse, with a total funding of approximately €2.2m (US$2.1m).