Systems‐Level Evaluation of Automated Urban Freeways
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 6
Abstract
The automation of urban freeways is a major feature of the new surface transportation act. Reducing freeway congestion can be presumed to have drawbacks, however, in terms of induced travel and possibly greater travel costs and higher emissions. We test several freeway‐automation scenarios for effects on travel demand using a regional four‐step model set. A partial‐automation scenario has the lowest congestion, but higher vehicle miles than conventional scenarios (transit expansion, new high‐occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, doing nothing). We projected emissions with the official California models and found that the conventional scenarios produced lower emissions for most pollutants. Using our own traveler‐cost model, we found the same general rankings, with all the automation alternatives more costly than transit, HOV lanes, and doing nothing. These results should be seen as tentative and be used to guide further research. Improved automation scenarios and more accurate methods of projecting travel demand, emissions, and costs are outlined.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
“BART in the San Francisco bay area.” (1979). Final Rep. of the BART impact program. Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Oakland, Calif.
2.
Bellomo, S. J., Dial, R. B., and Voorhees, A. M. (1970). “Factors, trends, and guidelines related to trip length.” NCHRP Rep. 89, Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C.
3.
Ben‐Akiva, M., and Lerman, S. R. (1985). Discrete choice analysis. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
4.
Cameron, M. (1991). “Transportation efficiency: tackling Southern California's air pollution and congestion.” Environmental Defense Fund, Los Angeles, Calif.
5.
Downs, A. (1992). Stuck in traffic: coping with peak‐hour congestion. The Brooking Institution, Washington, D.C.
6.
“The effectiveness of high‐occupancy vehicle facilities.” (1988). Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C.
7.
Frye, F. F. (1963). “Effects of an expressway on the distribution of traffic and accidents.” Hwy. Res. Record, 21.
8.
Harvey, G., and Deakin, E. (1991). “Toward improved regional transportation modeling practice.” Draft of modeling manual for the National Association of Regional Councils, DHS, Inc., Berkeley, Calif.
9.
“Highway electrification and automation technologies, regional impact analysis project.” (1992). Phase III Rep., Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, Calif., June.
10.
Holtzclaw, J. (1989). “U.S. subsidies to motor vehicles.” Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif., Sept.
11.
Johnston, R. A., and Page, D. L. (1993). “Automating urban freeways: a financial analysis for user groups.” J. Transp. Engrg., 119(4).
12.
Johnston, R. A., et al. (1990). “Automating urban freeways: policy research agenda.” J. Transp. Engrg., 116(4), 442–460.
13.
Kanafani, A. (1983). Transportation demand analysis. McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
14.
Ketcham, B. (1991). “Making transportation choices based on real costs.” Konheim and Ketcham, New York, N.Y., October.
15.
Litman, T. (1992). “Transportation cost survey,” MSc thesis, Olympia, Wash.
16.
Mackenzie, J. J., Dower, R. C., and Chen, D. D. T. (1992). “The going rate: what it really costs to drive.” World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C., June.
17.
Mannheim, M. (1979). Fundamentals of transportation systems analysis: basic concepts, Volume 1. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
18.
“Methodology to calculate emissions factors for on‐road motor vehicles.” (1991). California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, Calif., July.
19.
“MINUTP technical user manual.” (1991). COMSIS Corporation, Silver Springs, Md., Jan.
20.
Moffet, J. (1992). The price of mobility (review draft), Natural Resources Defense Council, October.
21.
Newman, P. W. G., and Kenworthy, J. R. (1988). “Gasoline consumption and cities: a comparison of U.S. cities with a global survey.” J. Am. Plng. Assoc., 55(1), 24–37.
22.
Newman, P. W. G., and Kenworthy, J. R. (1989). Cities and automobile dependence: a sourcebook. Gower Technical, Brookfield, Mass.
23.
Ridgeway, D. (1990). “An assessment of the cost of private motor‐vehicle use to the city and county of Denver,” May.
24.
Ruiter, E. R., and Dial, R. B. (1979). “Equilibrium modelling.” Behavioral travel modeling, D. A. Hensher and P. R. Stopher, eds., Croom Helm, London, England, 207–215.
25.
Small, K. A., Winston, C., Evans, C. A. (1989). Road work: a new highway pricing and investment policy. The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
26.
Stopher, P. R. (1990). “Traffic congestion and capacity increases.” Rep. Prepared for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Exhibit B for the Plaintiff in “Citizens for a Better Environment and Sierra Club v. Metropolitan Transportation Committee,” Cases C‐89‐2044 and C‐89‐2054, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, Calif.
27.
Stopher, P. R. (1993). Deficiencies of travel‐forecasting methods relative to mobile emissions.” J. Transp. Engrg., 119(5), 723–741.
28.
Suhrbier, J. H., and Byrne, W. D. (1979). “Analytic procedures for urban transportation energy conservation: summary of findings and methodologies.” DOE/8628‐1, Final Rep. Vol. 1. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., April.
29.
“Supplement to methodology to calculate emission factors for on‐road motor vehicles, July 1991.” (1992). California Air Resource Board, June, Sacramento, Calif.
30.
Train, K. (1986). Qualitative choice analysis: theory, econometrics, and applications to auto demand. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
31.
Underwood, S. E. (1990). “Social and institutional considerations in intelligent vehicle‐highway systems.” SAE Special Rep. 833, Society of Automative Engineers.
32.
“User's guide to the PC version of the direct travel impact model.” (1993). Release 93.1, Caltrans, Sacramento, Calif., Feb.
33.
Voorhees, A. M., et al. (1966). “Factors in work trip length.” Hwy. Res. Record. 141.
34.
Voorhees, A. M., Barnes, C. F., and Coleman, F. E. (1962). “Traffic patterns and land use alternatives.” Hwy. Res. Board Bull. No. 347, 1–9.
35.
Wagner, F. A., and Gilbert, K. (1978). “Transportation system management: an assessment of impacts.” Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., Nov.
36.
Wilson, A. G. (1979). “Equilibrium and transport system dynamics.” Behavioral travel modeling. D. A. Hensher and P. R. Stopher, eds., Croom Helm, London, England, 164–186.
37.
Zimmerman, S., et al. (1974). “Urban highways as traffic generators.” Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C., Aug.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 30, 1993
Published online: Nov 1, 1994
Published in print: Nov 1994
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.