Assessment of the Applicability of Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Automation Systems (CVHAS) to Bus Transit and Intermodal Freight: Case Study Feasibility Analyses in the Metropolitan Chicago Region

摘要

This report presents the results of its performance assessment of the feasibility of applying cooperative vehicle highway automation systems (CVHAS) to bus transit and freight movements in the metropolitan Chicago area. CVHAS are systems that provide driving control assistance or fully automated driving and are based on information about the vehicle's driving environment that can be received by communication from other vehicles or from the infrastructure, as well as from their own on-board sensors. The Chicago Central Area is equipped with rail transit, commuter rail and bus transit service, however, the connections between the commuter rail stations and major destinations, especially across town, are not as good as they should be. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems making use of CVHAS technologies have promise to help improve connectivity within the Chicago Central Area. Three BRT case studies were performed in which CVHAS technologies were evaluated, including transit signal priority, collision warning, precision docking and automatic steering control systems. A total of five operational concept alternatives were selected. The evaluation showed that all of the alternatives are economically feasible and CVHAS technologies are able to help improve the performance of the intermodal freight system. One of the alternatives was recommended for further investigation, in which conventional truckonly facilities open to all trucks before 2015 and then upgraded to an automated highway open only to automated trucks. These preliminary case studies have shown potentially significant benefits from use of CVHAS technologies to help solve specific problems for bus and truck transportation in the Chicago region. Although the case study examples are specific to Chicago, they indicate the potential that these technologies should have for use in other major metropolitan areas as well. Within the Chicago context, they should also stimulate follow-on studies to explore the design and deployment issues in more depth so that progress can be made toward the start of implementation.