In the FABULOS Pre-Commercial Procurement the three consortia carry out their R&D based on the requirements of six cities. These requirements are laid down in the tender documentation, in particular in the Functional Specifications document. Requirements consist of nine functional requirements, such as as “Control room functions and remote operation”,  “Integration to the cities’ public transport systems”, or “Fleet management system”. In addition, there are three non-functional requirements such as “Safety and technical maturity” and “Societal maturity”.

All the twelve topics have various sub-requirements, leading to a comprehensive overview of elements that both suppliers and cities need to take into account when considering to pilot or deploy an automated shuttle service. The document also includes a questionnaire that shuttle operators should complete for the benefit of Emergency Services. For example, the police and fire departments it is often also the first time they can encounter automated shuttle buses in their city.

The requirements do not constitute minimum service level requirements, as this is not a regular tender, but a technical R&D project for a service that is not yet commercially available. If any city or public transport authority considers a pilot, or wants to make a tender and needs inspiration, the final version of the FABULOS requirements can be viewed here.