The absence of a human driver creates novel challenges for fully automated public transport. Passengers are likely to have different expectations, needs, or even fears when traveling without a driver in potentially dangerous situations. We present the results from two field studies in which we explored incident management in a driverless shuttle bus. We explored participant’s behavior and willingness to assist in solving problems in a variety of scenarios where the bus suddenly stops for technical reasons or a hypothesized situation of harassment. In a follow-up study, we focused on auditory remote assistance and investigated problem solving through the passengers. We found that diffusion of responsibility is an existent barrier, when passengers are involved in the resolving of potentially dangerous situations. It can be overcome, when incident-relevant instructions are designed explicitly, briefly, timely, distinguishable from regular on-trip information, and address auditory and visual sensory channels alike.

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Automated shuttles are already seeing deployment in many places across the world and have the potential to transform public mobility to be safer and more accessible. During the current transition phase from fully manual vehicles toward higher degrees of automation and resulting mixed traffic, there is a heightened need for additional communication or external indicators to comprehend automated vehicle actions for other road users. In this work, we present and discuss the results from seven studies (three preparatory and four main studies) conducted in three European countries aimed at investigating and providing a variety of such external communication solutions to facilitate the exchange of information between automated shuttles and other motorized and non-motorized road users.