The upcoming years are crucial to the development of automated driving in Europe. The technology has great potential to serve the public interest by improving the environmental sustainability of traffic and making transit safer and more enjoyable for everyone. At the same time, there is a risk that everyone will use his or her own private automated car, increasing the number of motorised vehicles on the road. Automated vehicles as part of public transport is a goal worth aiming for. Therefore, the Sohjoa Baltic project researched, promoted, and piloted the use of driverless, electric minibuses in public transport to secure the benefits of automated driving for society as a whole.

This publication is intended to provide relevant legal information for persons or organisations interested in integrating automated driving into the public road system. It identifies the main implementation bottlenecks and gives practical insight into the requirements that must be fulfilled before an automated vehicle can be operated on public roads. Examples from practice illustrate the explanations.

This is part of a publication series consisting of five volumes produced in the Sohjoa Baltic project.