Intelligent and Environmentally-Sensible Transportation System: An Alternative Vision

A recent US DOT plan grading IVHS research correctly notes that, "Over the next 20 years, a national IVHS program could have a greater societal Impact than even the Interstate Highway System " But what will those impacts be? What could they be?The primary thrust of current IVHS initiatives to accommodate more vehicles more safely using existing roadspace The principal focus is on two sets of technotogles 1) real-time mformatmn to manage traffic flowsbetter; and 2) automated controls to pack vehtcles closer together. A variety of other applications are also beingpursued, including transit and goods movement, but are receiving much less attention and government resources.The benefits of current IVHS initiatives are coming under increasing scrutiny. It appears unlikely that deploymentof IVHS technologles, other than automated vehicle controls, will lead to major congestion reductions or road capacity expansmns (e.g, Hall, 1993; AI-Deek et al, 1989) Highway automation could provide large capacityimprovements, but perhaps at a huge economic, envtronmental, and social cost (Burwell, 1993, Gordon, 1992,Johnston and Ceerla, 1994).