PRACTICALITY OF AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEMS, VOLUME I: SUMMARY REPORT

The determination of AHS practicality was based on evaluating various design concepts in relation to both technical and socio-economic design considerations. The project included the determination of system objectives, the conceptual design of candidate systems to meet these objectives and evaluation of the most promising candidate systems. This final report is presented in three volumes. Volume I contains a summary of the entire report. The detailed analyses are presented in Vols. II and III. This study has produced a large number of results. These results indicate that there are many positive arguments for developing an Automated Highway System, as well as indicate the areas of design uncertainty. The basic reason for concluding that the AHS is practical is based on the following four facts: (1) The demand analysis clearly indicates that the increased average speed for automobile travel, which is provided by AHS, plays a dominant role in determination of mode split potential. (2) All of the major aspects of AHS design have been analyzed, in a preliminary fashion, and have been found to be technically feasible. (3) There are four major design concepts generated (or reaffirmed) by this study that provide a unique advantage to AHS from either a technological or a cost standpoint. They are (a) use of an existing right-of-way for AHS lane construction, (b) design of a smart vehicle to minimize dependence on communication with the wayside, (c) use of an electric motor for private vehicle propulsion on the guideway, and (d) utilization of a system owned partial pallet including command and control equipment and, possibly, an electric motor. (4) An indirect benefit of increased lane capacity can be obtained through automated control. This reduces the amount of dislocations needed to support any increase in automobile travel. (FHWA)