# Systemic Design Strategies for Shaping the Future of Automated Shuttle Buses
## 2 Related Works
### Adopting Automated Shuttle Bus as a Sociotechnical System Innovation  
Providing adequate mobility services to residents and visitors is a complex sociotechnical task for urban public transport systems. The mobility of people and goods is at the core of urban transport planning and decision-making. Autonomous shuttle buses can move quickly in the narrow streets of a city to rapidly transport humans and goods. Moreover, they are also conducive to promoting the development of the urban transportation system in a low-carbon and sustainable direction. Over the past few years, several cities have expressed interest in using automated shuttle buses for \"last mile\" transportation services.  
However, transitioning to a transportation system based on an automated shuttle bus is never easy. As a complex sociotechnical system, a transportation system includes many elements, such as user practices, cultural and symbolic meanings, infrastructure, maintenance networks, industry structure, and vehicle technologies [6; 33; 38]. According to [PERSON], each sociotechnical system can be distinguished into three analytical levels [33; 34; 35; 36], which consist of many subsystems. Changes in one subsystem trigger changes in its constituent elements and other subsystems.  
In general, the introduction of AV technology has been met with various obstacles, including fragmented infrastructure, the lack of common laws and regulations, and consumer unacceptance and distrust [39; 40]. These can be seen as various aspects of the complex transport sociotechnical system. Some scholars employed a sociotechnical transition perspective to study the facets of the modern transportation system (e.g., [41; 42]). For instance, by utilizing the MLP approach to examine the complexities and uncertainties of the interrelationships between various social groups, complex processes, and multiple sociotechnical dimensions, [PERSON] (2021) provides insights into assessing the user acceptance of autonomous driving technologies in the future from a theoretical basis [43].  
Few scholars are beginning to adopt a sociotechnical transition perspective regarding the diffusion of automated shuttle buses in cities. For example, [PERSON] et al. (2021) proposed the concept of Autonomous Shuttles-as-a-Service (ASaaS) as a critical pillar to achieve innovative and sustainable near-distance mobility to arrange the most suitable transportation solutions for users [44].  
However, several design challenges exist for the diffusion of automated shuttle buses, such as the specific mode of delivery, visitor experience of prescribed routes, and shared and integrated mobility. Considering automated shuttles as pillars of innovative and sustainable near-distance mobility in intelligent transportation systems requires systematic design, i.e., integrating systems thinking with design thinking. As suggested in [45], future research directions for applying automated shuttle bus technologies should include: a. integrating automated shuttles with extant public transportation systems; b. building more sustainable mobility ecosystems via a comprehensive approach; and c. increasing end-users' engagement and encouraging them to change their user behavior. A systemic design approach that combines design thinking with systems thinking seems to have a positive effect on the three research directions mentioned above. The following sections will focus on applying systemic design in this field.