Stavanger and Rotterdam are pioneering the deployment of automated public transport, currently operating full-sized automated buses on public roads. While these pilots demonstrate technological progress, they currently rely on an on-board safety driver to supervise operations and manage interactions. However, to achieve a scalable, viable business case and address the chronic shortage of public transport staff, the ultimate goal is to transition from supervised operation to fully driverless services.

Accelerating this shift requires more than just sensor technology, it requires public trust. As the safety driver is removed, the "social" and "communicative" role they play –nodding to pedestrians, signaling intent, and providing a sense of authority– also disappears. This creates a critical gap in how the vehicle interacts with the urban environment and diverse road users.

Through our Citizen Experience methodology, we have engaged different citizens in both the "launch" environment of Rotterdam and the "mature" environment of Stavanger, researching how citizens perceive safety and trust.

Using mixed qualitative research methods both remotely and on-site (interviews, online surveys and observations) both in Rotterdam and Stavanger, the project unpacked how external Human-Machine Interfaces (eHMI) –digital screens on autonomous buses displaying various messages to passengers and other road users– can effectively replace human communication, ensuring that the transition to driverless mobility, if it is to finally take place in these contexts, is not only technically feasible but socially accepted and intuitively understood by citizens. 

The project concluded with an online workshop led by Humankind where all project partners were present, anchored in the idea citizen engagement must be a central step of public transport transformations. During the workshop, participants ideated on future iterations of the project, discussing the challenges faced during the deployment of the solution and possible paths forward to continue with a human-centric autonomous public transport.