TIME EFFECTIVENESS OF NEW TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES - THE CASE OF HIGHWAY AUTOMATION

This paper examines the effectiveness of new transportation technologies in reducing travel time. First, the components of travel time are defined and compared among alternative modes. Next, a series of highway automation concepts is described, and the time benefits of each are discussed. Finally, the relationship between automation and highway performance is modeled and evaluated by examining the space efficiency of highways and then measuring the benefits of increased capacity. The paper demonstrates that simple forms of highway automation might provide travel time benefits. Automated low-speed and stationary merging can reduce queueing at the entrances to bridges, tunnels and other bottlenecks; and ''mini-highways'' can reduce delays crossing urbanized areas. Nevertheless, it seems that highway automation may achieve its greatest benefits only within a few niche markets. These markets are likely to be in congested existing cities-where construction of new conventional highways is all but prohibited-rather than in new cities.