The Role of Universities
in
Advancing Advanced Transit
Alain L. Kornhauser
Chairman, Advanced Transit Association (ATRA)
Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering
Director, Program in Transportation
Founder, ALK Technologies, Inc.
and
Vice Chairman, New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology
Presented at
US-Sweden Livability Workshop
Washington, DC
November 30, 2011
40 years ago…
• Universities played a significant role in advancing
Advanced Transit (implementation of automation into mass transportation)
– Automated Rail Systems @ Berkeley & MIT
40 years ago…
• Universities played a significant role in advancing
Advanced Transit (implementation of automation into mass transportation)
– Focus on Airport Systems @ CMU & Texas
40 years ago…
• Universities played a significant role in advancing
Advanced Transit (implementation of automation into mass transportation)
– PRT focus at U of Minn., U of Wash & Princeton
40 years ago…
• Univ. effort was motivated by R&D funding from
UMTA, which also funded:
– Transpo 72 (Major exposition at Dulles)
40 years ago…
• Univ. effort was motivated by R&D funding from
UMTA, which also funded:
– DPMs,
40 years ago…
• Univ. effort was motivated by R&D funding from
UMTA, which also funded:
– GRT@DFW
40 years ago…
• Univ. effort was motivated by R&D funding from
UMTA, which also funded:
– Morgantown
Along the way…
• Nothing much…
But Today…
• Masdar & Heathrow are operational
But Today…
• Advances are being made with autonomous vehicles
But Today…
• Advances are being made with autonomous vehicles
But Today…
• Unfortunately… Little Federal Funding..
• Connected Vehicles Applications
• Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications for Safety
• Intelligent Transportation Systems for Transit
• University Transportation Centers Program
University Transportation Centers Program
- 2011 Grants Solicitation
(Nothing about Advanced Transit! Livable Communities???)
Appendix B: Potential Transit Research Topics
Safety
Safety culture and training
Safety incident reporting
Engineering and testing of vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure
Applications of safety management systems to public transportation
State of Good Repair
Asset management
Performance metrics
Transit infrastructure data collection and analysis
Transit maintenance - best and new practices
Engineering of vehicles and equipment
Impacts of system reliability on ridership
Capital maintenance funding balance and relationship to service levels
Economic Competitiveness
Workforce development and training/human resources
Transit and job creation
Transit system operations and service planning - best and new practices
Transit system management, administration, and finance
Transit and economic development/value capture
Service availability levels and impacts on public benefits and ridership levels
Operations and funding issues
Livable Communities
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)
Bike/pedestrian research — first mile, last mile
Rural/tribal/parks/paratransit research
Affordable housing and transit
Transit access, social equity, and mobility
Transit and High Speed Rail (HSR) interconnectivity
Environmental Sustainability
Land use planning
Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Metropolitan planning
Alternative energy and transit.
Universities Could Help…
• Very effectively and substantively…
Little thought to date about how Advanced Transit could help
mitigate some of the World Bank “Automobile Futures”
• Developing strategies that not only dis-incentivise the
automobile but also produce not only a viable alternative, but
even a substantially better alternative
• Better alternative, not only by itself, but how it enhances
existing modes
• “last mile” problem of Conventional and High Speed Rail
• Training the next generation of planners
Universities Could Help…
• Very effectively and substantively…
Fundamental issues:
• Automation and its necessity for extremely high
Since 1976: >1.35M Highway deaths US
Since 1776: ~1.25 M US Military Death, All Wars!!
Maybe we shouldn't be driving!
Universities Could Help…
• Very effectively and substantively…
Fundamental issues:
• Automation and its necessity for extremely high
• image processing for object detection
• Visualisation, animation, simulation, virtual reality
• Low-weight designs
• Demand modelling
• Implementation strategies (NIMBY studies)
• Environmental Assessments
• Financing/implementation strategies
Universities Could Help…
• Very effectively and substantively…
• Extend University Transportation Centers Program
Internationally
– Begin with Sweden