As use of public transport returns to pre-pandemic levels, transit authorities are increasingly stretched, dependent on a workforce looking for better pay and working conditions. Existing labour shortages have also been compounded by the Ukraine crisis: a demographic study into commercial vehicles by the Norwegian Professional Transport Association suggests that as much as one-quarter of public buses in Europe are driven by Ukrainian nationals. Many of these drivers have already begun returning to Ukraine to fight, meaning driver shortages are likely to increase over the coming months.
As a result, automating key areas of transport networks, such as public buses, could be the most effective approach to maintain functional networks for the foreseeable future. During an exclusive look at ZF’s new autonomous shuttle and state-of-the-art UK facility, Automotive World was made clear of the German supplier’s hopes to support this transition and its ambition to automate transport solutions for multiple industries in the future.