Application of Autonomous Driving Technology to Transit - Functional Capabilities for Safety and Capacity

Because of rapid advancements in autonomous driving technology, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a Preliminary Statement of Policy Concerning Automated Vehicles. Automobile manufacturers are beginning to market NHTSA defined "Level 2" packages which involve "automation of at least two primary control functions designed to work in unison to relieve the driver of control of those functions." Combining adaptive cruise control and automatic lane keeping is an example. A package of advanced collision avoidance and mitigation technologies is being offered by Mercedes Benz in its Intelligent Drive option for 2014 “S Class” vehicles. This paper discusses incorporating a similar package into the design of transit buses. A case study illustrates the business case that could be made for using automated technology to reduce bus crashes and claims for New Jersey Transit (NJ TRANSIT), one of the largest transit agencies in North America. It also shows how some features could improve capacity in a heavily used transit facility, the Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL) into New York City.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP040 Automated Transit Systems.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Lutin, Jerome
  • Kornhauser, Alain L
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicle guidance; Bus crashes; Bus lanes; Case studies; Crash avoidance systems; Highway capacity; Technological innovations; Transit buses
• Identifier Terms: New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit)
• Geographic Terms: New York (New York)
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516554
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-0207
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 28 2014 1:32PM