Automated driving and rural public transport: project meeting at ZalaZONE 

The Hungarian project meeting and study tour of the SMARTAUTO project took place in Zalaegerszeg (Hungary), at ZalaZONE, on 25-26 March 2026, organized by the South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency.

25 March 2026 – presentations on the future of rural public transport, including the opportunities offered by automated driving

The international consortium led by the University of Aveiro in Portugal, consisting of Irish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian, Romanian and Hungarian partners, listened to presentations on the following topics and discussed their content:

• presentation of the project related elements of the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme Plus, the future of mobility in rural areas, including the opportunities offered by connectivity and self-driving,
• presentation of the automated bus public transport service of Kaposvár Transport Zrt., presentation of the route, timetable and the impact study that underpins it,
• integration of automated driving solutions into rural public transport networks,
• PIX Moving: innovative solutions in the field of automated driving, testing of automated driving vehicles serving individual mobility in Romania and In Eastern Europe.

The afternoon presentations focused more on presenting specific solutions and case studies, as follows:

• the main activities and research and development results of the Zalaegerszeg campus of Széchenyi University operating next to ZalaZONE and working in the field of automated driving,
• key technologies and artificial intelligence-based solutions applied by AUMOVIO, with a special focus on the field of vehicle braking systems,
• testing of automated driving vehicles and advanced driving systems in the ZalaZONE area and on the public roads connected to it, the possibilities of approving developments in the European Union – based on the experiences of TÜV Rheinland-KTI Ltd.

26 March 2026 – Study visit at the AVL ZalaZONE Proving Ground

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the program was the presentation of the ZalaZONE project and following that, a visit to it. Based on the presentation of the infrastructure and services of the AVL ZalaZONE facility, which is one of the three largest automotive test tracks on the European continent, our international guests saw for themselves the testing (rural road system, smart city, highway, hill module, high-speed oval track, etc.) and research and development (laboratories, workshops, etc.) opportunities available to automotive companies and research centers on the proving ground. The organizers of the study tour also presented the services provided by the proving ground for automated vehicles.

The one and a half day event provided an insight into the automated driving technologies available in rural areas, illustrating the obstacles and opportunities for their wider deployment. We express our special thanks to the staff of AVL ZalaZONE Proving Ground Ltd. for the implementation of the event.