The automated highway system: A transportation technology for the 21st century

The current vehicle-highway system has reached a plateau in its ability to meet the demand for moving goods and people. This paper sketches an architecture for an automated highway system or AHS. The architecture can be realized by several designs that differ in terms of performance and sophistication. One design is described that could triple capacity and reduce travel time, guarantee collision-free operation in the absence of malfunctions, limit performance degradation in the case of faults, and reduce emissions by half. Evidence suggesting that the design can be implemented is summarized. It is indicated how the design can be adapted to different urban and rural scenarios and how a standard land-use model can show the impact of AHS on urban density. A summary of the progress of the National Automated Highway Systems Consortium is provided. The paper concludes with a critique of AHS. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.