AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEMS: COMMERCIAL AND TRANSIT ASPECTS PRECURSOR SYSTEMS ANALYSES

The Automated Highway System (AHS) program component of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a broad national effort to provide the basis for, and transition to, the next major performance upgrade of the U.S. vehicle/highway system, through the use of automated vehicle control technology. As part of the Analysis Phase, the Precursor Systems Analysis (PSA) was performed to identify issues and risks associated with AHS. This report addressed part of Activity Area "F" for Commercial and Transit Aspects. In Activity Area "F" Commercial Motor Carriers and Transit Aspects of AHS, many areas were researched including: European mechanical/electronic guided bus state of the art technology summarization, motor carrier market segmentation by specific AHS Cluster Map descriptions, Dual Mode Transit prototypical applications for AHS, and right-of-way needs for Motor Carrier/Transit vehicles at stations/mainline locations. There is a correlation between the extent of standardization on the one hand and complexity of the AHS on the other. The more the characteristics of vehicles are subjected to rules and standardized, the less the expenditure for integrating an AHS into vehicles and guiding them automatically. The AHS Commercial Motor Carrier AHS Cluster Map allows for combinations of vehicle action controllers (vehicle vs. guideway) Carrier segment being studied. The recommended concept is to allow AHS Transit to be developed on a parallel path, while, at the same time, ensuring that its technology development program be a subset of the larger AHS research effort. To help distribute the construction/operations costs of a possible Dual Mode AHS for Transit (which functions heavily in the AM/PM rush hours) would be by providing possible off-peak AHS commercial Motor Carrier vehicle usage on a schedule. If major high speed segments of the AHS network could be provided which guarantee high performance operations, with the cost of those segments borne by budgets beyond the transit sector, significant cost savings could result compared with presently available technology. (Abstract is from Technical Report Documentation Page with no changes; report not available for clarification of some portions of abstract.)