The Autonomous Vehicle Continuum Impacts session at the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit included presentations from:
- Alain L. Kornhauser, Professor, Operations Research and Financial Engineering, Princeton University;
- Gummada Murthy, Program Director, Operations, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; and
- Johanna Zmud, Director, Washington DC Office, Senior Research Scientist, Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
Sponsored by the ITE Transportation Systems Management & Operations Council, the session examined how autonomous vehicles will transform how we plan, design, and operate our transportation system.
Dr. Zmud's presentation focused on State and Local issues. She explored various elements of this topic, beginning with the various types of terminology tied into automated vehicle technology (cars, public transport, urban and interurban freight, etc.) and connected vehicle technology (V2V and V2I). Zmud then presented on Scenario-Based Roadmapping which included scenarios of paths of AV/CV deployment, implications and impacts as well as a strategic roadmap.
One of the main points of Dr. Zmud’s presentation was a look at state and local perspectives on automated vehicles vs. connected vehicles. The presentation explored the Evolutionary Scenario which follows a slower and more calculated path toward the goal of significant numbers of self-driving vehicles during 2016-2025 vs. the Revolutionary Scenario, which illustrated a more direct path toward this same goal within the same time period. Ultimately, the general population who were surveyed favored the Revolutionary Scenario, while state DOTs favored the Evolutionary Scenario. Zmud also presented on the Potential Changes for Organization and the Policy or Planning Actions to Prepare for automated and connected vehicles.
More information from this session will be published in the upcoming October issue of ITE Journal.