TELECOMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) and its application to municipal mass transit, taxis, trains, and general highway systems is briefly discussed. This technically feasible (although expensive) system with great potential social benefits is designed to determine on a periodic basis and without human intervention, the location and status of every vehicle in the system. Random environmental and human factors can cause change in planned headways in urban bus operations. An AVM system with its frequent automatic interrogations and updates could adjust routes and schedules in real time to compensate for unpredictable variations. The system also permits the accumulation of data such as mileage, fuel consumption, and travel time for off-line analysis. Based on a 100-bus fleet, it has been estimated that the annual benefits achievable through improved scheduling and reduced manpower and fleet costs amount to about $1333 per vehicle. An AVM system that makes use of radio-location technique could function most effectively with police car fleets. An AVM system that offers moderate accuracy for locating vehicles can improve the service, efficiency and revenue of taxi fleets. Taxi dispatching services could be considerably improved by computerized systems. A variety of techniques are being developed to meet the needs of train communications; the techniques range from inductive track circuits to radiating transmission lines and may have the potential for on-board public address systems and passenger telephone service. The benefits derived from an AVM system will depend in large measure, on the information that can be acquired and the manner in which it is processed and used.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00954403
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Information Science

  8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 501
  Silver Spring, MD  United States  20910-3602
• Authors:
  • Kodis, R D
• Publication Date: 1975-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 3 p.
• Serial:
  • Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Society for Information Science
  • ISSN: 0095-4403

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic vehicle monitoring; Bus transportation; Communication systems; Dispatching; Economics; Fuel consumption; Highway transportation; Information management; Information, data, and knowledge; Police patrol; Public transit; Railroad transportation; Routing; Scheduling; Taxicabs; Transportation; Urban transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Mileage
• Old TRIS Terms: Electric communication systems
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Economics; Operations and Traffic Management; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00099742
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 18 1981 12:00AM