Vienna is taking a proactive stance on cooperative, connected, and automated mobility (CCAM), laying out a vision and framework that will guide its approach to this rapidly evolving field. In Vienna’s Position Paper on Automated Mobility, the city outlines how it will address the incoming technology ensuring that automation works for the city – not the other way around.
A slow and steady transition to automation
When Vienna implemented an automated bus in 2021, the public was surprisingly quiet. Helmut Augustin, Advisor on Digitisation in Transport for the City of Vienna’s Department for Urban Development and Planning, explains, “There was positive feedback, but not too much, as the trial took place in a peripheral area on a route. This was intentional – to conduct the test in a simpler environment where no major challenges were expected. Overall, the little feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive.”
The results speak to the adaptability of the public. The initiative was made to raise public awareness about automated mobility, a subject Vienna has been working on for over 10 years. Vienna was early to recognise the impact automation would have on cities although Augustin admits they may have overestimated the speed at which technology would evolve.
“We have been working on this topic for the past ten years. In the beginning, we expected much faster development in this field. The timelines we predicted back then have not materialised as anticipated. Today, the general consensus is that there will be an extended mixed-traffic phase, possibly even indefinitely, due to the presence of pedestrians, cyclists, and older vehicles.”
Today, the general consensus is that there will be an extended mixed-traffic phase...
Making automation work for the city – not the other way around
As this transition gets underway, cities must navigate the complexities of implementing smarter, more sustainable urban mobility systems and the role of CCAM is coming into sharper focus. Vienna’s Position Paper on Automated Mobility lays out a plan to address the challenges and opportunities the transition will bring. Vienna’s responses to automated driving focus on several key areas, including space and efficiency, safety, infrastructure, traffic control, commercial transport, adaptation of the legal framework, and coordination and knowledge exchange. Each of these areas is covered in the paper.
Augustin lays out why the position paper was an important step for the city, “One key aspect of our approach is that we believe automated vehicles should adapt to the city and its inhabitants, not the other way around. Our focus is on asking how this technology can contribute to our urban goals rather than shaping the city to accommodate it.”
This approach aligns with the work Eurocities has been doing in the EU-funded project SHOW, where Eurocities argued that authorities should align CCAM deployment with local strategies or sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) and developed application guidelines for cities to do so. Automation is already shaping mobility in cities. In Paris, three metro lines are fully automated. The city of Helmond is a living lab for automated mobility. It has adopted a roadmap towards automated public transport services. Following several pilot projects within EU initiatives (Fabulos, LivingLapt, Move2CCAM), Helmond will implement a CCAM public transport system this year to serve an industrial area. The city also has a strong record in smart traffic light systems and truck platooning.
Vienna’s position paper proudly proclaims that Vienna is one of the most liveable cities in the world and local leaders are determined to keep it that way stating: “Automated mobility should contribute to guaranteeing mobility (in the sense of the Smart Climate City strategy). Transport is not merely a technical system but also has a social function that enables participation and prosperity.”
Transport is not merely a technical system but also has a social function that enables participation and prosperity.
The city is committed to ensuring that automated mobility supports, rather than competes with, public transport – potentially integrating automation into transit systems to enhance efficiency and connectivity between urban and rural areas. This vision aligns with Vienna’s broader goals of creating liveable streets, reducing reliance on permanent parking, and prioritising sustainable urban mobility
Seestadt as a living lab
Vienna’s auto.Bus – Seestadt project aimed to enhance the efficiency and operational safety of autonomous vehicles, ultimately paving the way for real-world testing of a bus line in Seestadt. This included integrating stops, timetables, and passengers under real operating conditions. Seestadt was the ideal location for this pilot, as it offers an urban setting that is less complex than the city centre while also serving as an innovative residential environment – functioning as both a living lab and a testbed for Smart City Vienna initiatives.
AVs’ promises and potential pitfalls
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have the potential to transform urban mobility when integrated into shared CCAM services within a well-structured public transport network. Automation can solve many issues human-operated cars cause in cities today. For instance, integrating CCAM services into Mobility-as-a-Service platforms, like the initiative in Frankfurt with EasyMile shuttles, could reduce car ownership in cities.
“The need for long-term on-street parking could decrease significantly, which is a major advantage for city administrations. Currently, the average car remains parked for 23 hours a day – an inefficient use of valuable public space. From an economic perspective, this model makes little sense. Autonomous vehicles and MaaS operators would ensure that vehicles remain in circulation, maximising their use while freeing up public space for more productive purposes.”
Despite the promise of automated mobility, there remain concerns that must be addressed when implementing AVs in real contexts:
Modal Shift: These services can enhance accessibility and reduce reliance on private cars, but there are concerns that greater comfort and lower fares might lead to increased travel demand, potentially causing more congestion. Additionally, there is a risk of a ‘reverse’ modal shift, where people move away from active travel modes such as walking and cycling in favour of automated transport.
Climate: Moreover, increased travel demand of AVs would also be an ecological problem, even if they were electric. After all, green electricity is a scarce resource too.
Data Sharing: AVs will require a comprehensive overhaul of the legal framework. Navigating relationships with the private companies behind the algorithms that operate these vehicles can be complex. Issues such as data sharing, liability, and regulatory oversight create a delicate balance of interests that must be carefully managed.
Societal Readiness: While public support will be crucial to ensure smooth implementation, perhaps surprisingly, Augustin doesn’t anticipate it will be a problem: “Think about the escalator – when it was first invented, an operator was required to run it. The real breakthrough came when people could use escalators independently, and today, no one even thinks about it; it’s just a normal part of everyday life. The same pattern applies to automation more broadly. From robotic vacuum cleaners to drones, people gradually get used to new technologies. Over time, this shift towards automation will likely feel just as natural.”
From robotic vacuum cleaners to drones, people gradually get used to new technologies.
Safety: As for the ethical questions posed by automation, Augustin highlights that we cannot rely on technology to resolve ethical issues we have yet to address ourselves. He explains, “Safety remains a top priority, raising an important question: can a 1,500 kg vehicle ever be 100% safe? A heavy, fast-moving vehicle in a mixed-traffic environment will always pose some level of risk.”
For Vienna, the approach is clear – the city doesn’t require automated vehicles to be entirely free of risk before adoption. Instead, the focus is on ensuring they are much safer than human-driven cars. While this acknowledges that some risk will always exist, the primary goal is to reduce overall harm on the roads.
Vienna’s next steps
As Vienna moves forward, another trial of automated mobility in public transport is in the pipeline, offering the public a hands-on experience with autonomous vehicle technology while raising awareness of its potential benefits.
The city remains committed to ensuring that automated mobility supports, rather than competes with, public transport – potentially integrating automation into transit systems to enhance efficiency and connectivity between urban and rural areas. This vision aligns with Vienna’s broader goals of creating liveable streets, reducing reliance on permanent parking, and prioritising sustainable urban mobility.
Collaboration with key stakeholders – including city departments, public transport providers, technical traffic experts, senior officials, and policymakers – will be crucial in guiding the responsible implementation of automated mobility. The C-Roads Platform is one such initiative, where Vienna is working alongside European partners to harmonise the deployment of cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS), ensuring seamless and interoperable mobility solutions across borders.
As Vienna continues to innovate, its approach to automation will serve as a model for other cities, demonstrating how new mobility technologies can be integrated to create smarter, greener, and more people-friendly urban environments.
Eurocities is actively supporting member cities like Vienna in shaping the future of urban mobility through research, policy guidance, and collaborative projects. Initiatives such as the EU-funded SHOW and FAME projects and our broader work on urban mobility innovation have highlighted some of the potential of automated mobility to create safer, more accessible, and environmentally friendly urban environments.
