Abstract Urban transportation systems exhibit structurally spatial inequity, characterized by inadequate service in non-central areas and persistent first/last-mile challenges, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations. While existing solutions like Community-Based Transportation (CBT), micromobility, ride-hailing, micro-transit, and Autonomous Shuttle Buses (ASB) offer partial remedies, they often suffer from limitations such as scale constraints, cost barriers, technological immaturity, or profit-driven biases. To overcome these systemic shortcomings, this paper proposes and elaborates on the Community-Based Ultra-Flex Autonomous Mobility System (CBUAMS), a novel, integrated socio-technical framework explicitly designed to advance urban transportation spatial equity. Crucially, CBUAMS is envisioned not as an isolated system but as a complementary and synergistic component. It is designed for seamless integration with existing urban transportation modes to enhance overall network efficiency and accessibility. CBUAMS is founded on three core pillars—community-based operations, ultra-flex service—and an adapted autonomous mobility system, and achieves equity goals through synergistic, multi-dimensional strategies: 1) Spatial restructuring via a “Three-Ring Model” (Core, Coordination, External Rings) that redefines the community as the basic unit for mobility planning and prioritizes local circulation; 2) Equity-oriented technological innovation, featuring a proposed Community-Based Autonomous Driving Classification (C-ADC) tailored for community contexts and costs, and low-cost, inclusive Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) deployment strategies to ensure broad accessibility; and 3) Polycentric community governance through a “government-enterprise-community” tripartite model that fosters collaboration, responsiveness, and sustainability. This research details the conceptual underpinnings, operational mechanisms, key technological components, and inherent engineering management challenges of CBUAMS. By offering a holistic, integrated approach that confronts systemic inequities, CBUAMS presents a promising new paradigm and practical blueprint with significant potential to redefine urban accessibility, enhance transportation equity, and contribute to a more sustainable and just city future.
Dong et al. (Sun,) studied this question.