DB Study Outlines Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on Public Transport

Last modified on 22 January, 2026

According to a study¹ by Deutsche Bahn’s regional transport subsidiary, DB Regio, autonomous vehicles (AVs) could significantly improve the performance of German public transport, reduce traffic congestion in cities, and better connect rural areas, if deployed nationwide.

Developed with mobility software company ioki, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Prognos AG, the study assesses the impacts of autonomous driving on Germany’s transport system.

The findings suggest that the greatest benefits are achieved when AVs are integrated into public transport services. In a scenario with around one million autonomous shuttles and buses operating nationwide, and acting both as direct point-to-point services and as feeders to rail and bus network:

• average waiting times are projected to fall to five minutes in metropolitan areas and 13 minutes in rural regions
• rural waiting times would be around 50 percent shorter than today
• journey times would be similar to those of private cars and could be shorter in some metropolitan areas
• the share of total passengers carried by public transport services would increase to 35 percent (more than double the current level)
• traffic congestion in cities and metropolitan areas would decrease by up to 11 percent

In contrast, the study finds limited benefits from simply automating existing bus services. The same applies for deploying privately operated robotaxis, which could increase urban traffic volumes by up to 40 percent, while offering little improvement to mobility in rural areas.

The report also highlights potential financial effects:

• public funding requirements for public transport could fall by around 20 percent, driven by operational efficiencies and higher passenger usage
• by 2045, individuals switching from private cars to public transport could save an average of 170 EUR per month

Autonomous driving should be treated as a tool to reshape public transport networks rather than a technology applied in isolation, while coordinated planning, regulatory support and user acceptance are key to realising these outcomes.

Source: The full press release is available here. The original article is available here.

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1. Autonomous Driving – Key to Tomorrow’s Mobility ↩︎