> It seems like a much easier thing to do. They drive on fixed routes and do not have to handle complicated parking situations.
- transporting people has higher legal requirements
- "complicated parking situations" is IMHO not really the problem, most parking situations are relatively straight forward. The problem is complicated driving situations. The fixed routes make it less likely to have, but the bigger size makes it more likely. Bus drivers needing to spontaneously adopt there route is rare but a thing, but having a hugely long car which isn't allowed to drive backward is making that more likely
- people, Bus drivers aren't just driving the bus but also tend to handle the passengers in various ways. The simplest cases are ticket payment (not always) and people asking questions (common especially with older people). More subtle ways include things like giving people the feeling they are not alone in the bus even if they are the only passenger (i.e. subtly reducing bad behavior) telling a passenger that they can't take a bicycle, motorcycle or for the supper crazy kind on fire grill into the bus. Or stuff like calling the police if they notice a passenger getting threatened or assaulted. etc. This category kind applies to any "at same time shared autonomous vehicle" is one of the more "open questions" of autonomous public transport. Depending on country, culture and are I think the difference can be anything from irrelevant to wupsi we have a huge problem.
- Insurance, a lot of autonomous care providers try to doge responsibility, i.e. they drive but you are responsibility for how they drive in most situations. That isn't exactly inviting for bus companies sure there probably is some insurer which is willing to handle it, but then the moment you hit the legal gray area between care maker or insurer has to pay things will likely get messy and that gray area is AFIK currently still too big.
so IMHO less of a pure technical and more of a legal/people issue