Introduction

The AVENUE project, part of European Horizon 2020, investigated the integration of automated vehicles (AVs) into public transport across Europe, focusing on improving mobility through innovative, sustainable solutions. From 2018 to 2022, AVENUE research demonstrated the potential of automated minibuses for safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport in urban environments. This introduction explains the project’s approach to deploy AVs for the first time globally in cities, the impact assessment and the potential for the future. Small summaries of the content of the book parts introduce to the book to give support and guidance to the reader.