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From page 21... ... 21 C H A P T E R 3 There are many different ways in which automated transit vehicles could be used to provide automated transit services. The impact of vehicle automation on the transit industry will depend on the degree of automation and the rate at which HAVs are introduced into the market. Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... 22 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce • Many passengers may not feel comfortable riding without a human presence on board. However, to estimate the potential effect of the use cases on the transit workforce, the research team had to assume that the use cases, as designed and implemented, were accepted by passengers and embraced by transit agencies. Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 23 • Implementation horizon and considerations: Discusses any known information regarding when the use case may be implemented in the United States beyond demonstrations and pilots. Describes some of the factors that would likely influence which transit agencies might implement the use case and to what degree and presents the research team's adoption assumptions when workforce effects were later estimated in the partial adoption scenario. Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... 24 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce 3.1.3 Potential Operational Impacts and Workforce Effects Although the main objective of automation for yard operations is to increase efficiency within transit agencies' O&M facilities, the use case has the potential to also improve safety within the yard by reducing conflicts between vehicle and maintenance staff and to enhance the efficiency of the overall transit system and on-time service by simplifying yard movement procedures needed for daily O&M (Machek et al. Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 25 • Will the reduced time associated with pre- and post-trip activities (e.g., bus retrieval, vaulting, and parking) be reallocated to revenue service or other productive activities, or will operators' schedules have fewer paid hours? Read the entire page →
From page 26... ... 26 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce 3.2.2 Current Deployments Many people may encounter their first HAV as an automated shuttle. In fact, recent research found that significantly more survey respondents would likely use low-speed automated shuttles rather than automated ride-hailing services or privately owned vehicles (Zmud and Sener 2019) Read the entire page →
From page 27... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 27 Due to their low speeds, most automated shuttle deployments are being designed to operate on predefined routes or geofenced locations, such as corporate or university campuses, or to provide last-mile travel between transport hubs and final destinations. These unique and limited environments present a less challenging operating environment than that of open-road driving, reducing the number of extreme edge cases that suppliers would have to account for. Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... 28 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce the generally longer distances that those shuttles would have to travel (at low speeds) to accommodate passenger travel needs. Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 29 In addition, other supporting technologies or technological approaches may be available to automated BRT in cases where the service operates on dedicated rights of way. The technology architecture could also include V2V and V2I connectivity for applications like platooning and to reduce vehicles' reliance on cameras, GPS, and other sensors for exterior sensing and localization. Read the entire page →
From page 30... ... 30 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce complex than operating in a dedicated guideway; however, if needed, onboard or remote operators could take over driving functions. Automated BRT would impact not only bus operators but also transit jobs that work directly with BRT routes, including training, planning and scheduling, customer service, and street supervision and dispatching. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 31 to allow for a more traveler-centric transportation system. Vehicles used are cars, vans, and shuttles. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... 32 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce Also, automated MOD may need to establish trip management platforms and/or call centers to help customers request trips and to provide customers with real-time information to effectively manage the on-demand fleets (these types of platforms are already in development from companies like Via and others) Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 33 communicate with the onboard passengers may also be necessary. All these needs may dampen the expected cost savings of automated MOD for paratransit. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... 34 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce While automated MOD development is proceeding at a rapid pace in the technology and auto sectors, public transit agencies are just beginning to explore this technology. A potential strategy would be for transit agencies to engage in a variety of potential partnerships with private-sector firms. Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 35 Automating local bus service could provide benefits in terms of more reliable bus operations, improved safety, and lower labor costs. Assuming labor costs are reduced, transit agencies with local bus service could operate more service (e.g., more frequency on current routes) Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... 36 The Impacts of Vehicle Automation on the Public Transportation Workforce automation for yard operations, the pilot projects include other types of traditional fixedroute bus transit services: • Urban shuttle-type service operating between an airport and a light rail station. • Urban shuttle-type services that connect university campuses to a park-and-ride lot, an Amtrak® station, or student housing. Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... Transit Vehicle Automation Use Cases 37 experiment with automated transit services than rural transit agencies, and per-route ridership at larger transit agencies is typically higher, allowing the costs of implementing automated local bus service to be amortized across more passengers. Also, the research team assumed that automated local bus service could be used to replace any current non-BRT services, including the MB, TB, and CB modes. Read the entire page →

From page 21...

... 21 C H A P T E R 3 There are many different ways in which automated transit vehicles could be used to provide automated transit services. The impact of vehicle automation on the transit industry will depend on the degree of automation and the rate at which HAVs are introduced into the market.