Automated vehicles: exploring possible consequences of government (non)intervention for congestion and accessibility

ABSTRACT

Academic research on automated vehicles (AVs) has to date been dominated by the fields of engineering and computer science. Questions of how this potentially transformative technology should be governed remain under-researched and tend to concentrate on governing the technology’s early development. We respond in this paper by exploring the possible longer-term effect of government (lack of) intervention.

The paper tests the hypothesis that a “laissez-faire” governance approach is likely to produce less desirable outcomes in a scenario of mass uptake of AVs than would a well-planned set of government interventions. This is done using two prominent themes in transport policy – traffic flow and accessibility – in a scenario of high market penetration of Level-5 automated vehicles in capitalist market economies. The evidence used is drawn from a literature review and from the findings of a set of workshops with stakeholders.

We suggest that a laissez-faire approach will lead to an increase in traffic volume as a result of a growing population of “drivers” and a probable increase in kilometres driven per passenger. At the same time, the hoped-for increases in network efficiency commonly claimed are not guaranteed to come about without appropriate government intervention. The likely consequence is an increase in congestion. And, with respect to accessibility, it is likely that the benefits of AVs will be enjoyed by wealthier individuals and that the wider impacts of AV use (including sprawl) may lead to a deterioration in accessibility for those who depend on walking, cycling or collective transport.

We consider the range of possible government intervention in five categories: Planning/land-use; Regulation/policy; Infrastructure/technology; Service provision; and Economic instruments. For each category, we set out a series of interventions that might be used by governments (at city, region or state level) to manage congestion or protect accessibility in the AV scenario described. Many of these (e.g. road pricing) are already part of the policy mix but some (e.g. ban empty running of AVs) would be new. We find that all interventions applicable to the management of traffic flow would also be expected to contribute to the management of accessibility; we define a small number of additional interventions aimed at protecting the accessibility of priority groups.

Our general finding is that the adoption of a package of these interventions could be expected to lead to better performance against generic traffic-flow and accessibility objectives than would a laissez-faire approach, though questions of extent of application remain.

In our conclusions, we contrast laissez-faire with both anticipatory governance and “precautionary” governance and acknowledge the political difficulty associated with acting in the context of uncertainty. We point out that AVs do not represent the first emerging technology to offer both opportunities and risks and challenge governments at all levels to acknowledge the extent of their potential influence and, in particular, to examine methodically the options available to them and the potential consequences of pursuing them.     

Evaluating household residential preferences for walkability and accessibility across three U.S. regions

Accessibility has been established as a major planning goal in recent years. However, little knowledge exists regarding how individuals value walkability, transit accessibility, and auto accessibility differently when deciding where to live. To fill this knowledge gap, this study conducts residential location choice modeling across three U.S. regions—Atlanta, Puget Sound, and Southeast Michigan. I find that, overall, all three types of accessibility are important determinants of residential location choice. Transit accessibility has a statistically significant positive influence on residential location choice across all three regions. On auto accessibility, results show that commute time by auto has the greatest influence on residential location choice among all independent variables, but auto accessibility to nonwork destinations appears to be inconsequential. Moreover, walkability is found to be a key determinant of residential location choice in the Puget Sound region but not the other two regions. I argue that these regional differences result from a lack of choice among Atlanta and Southeast Michigan residents, that is, a undersupply of walkable neighborhoods inhibits households in the two regions from living in such neighborhoods. This finding suggests the need for cities and regions to promote pedestrian-oriented development in order to broaden residential choice. The results further imply that, due to housing-supply constraints, households often have to live in a neighborhood with a level of accessibility lower than what they prefer. Transportation and land-use planners should address this “residential dissonance” when applying residential location choice models to predict land-use growth patterns.     

基于公交时空过程的城市时空可达性计算方法

交通系统的本质目标是为了提高个体的可达性.已有的基于时空维的时空可达 性计算方法忽略交通模式选择的约束,以及对于出行时间没有确切的概念,因此,提出了 基于公交时空过程的城市时空可达性计算方法.该方法以特定的公交出行时空约束作为 效用函数,从历史公交时空过程中获取公交出行时间,对于出行时间的计算更具可操作 性;并且,其考虑特定的时空约束下个体参与活动的效用值,显得更加严谨.同时该方法将 特定的交通出行方式作为一种出行的时空约束,更加符合现实情况.最终,以广州市公交 系统为研究对象,运用该方法计算特定时空约束下个体出行的城市时空可达性.结果表明 该方法具有有效性和可操作性.     

城市复合交通网络的若干特性研究

针对北京市三环内实际交通网络,分别构建城市道路交通网络和由城市轨道交通网络叠加形成的城市复合交通网络模型.基于复杂网络理论,采用Matlab 计算节点度、聚类系数、平均路径长度、介数和节点紧密度等指标,分析了其分布规律,然后对这两个网络模型的统计特征值进行比较分析.结果表明,它们都具有一定的随机网络模型和无标度网络模型的小聚类系数特征,叠加后的城市交通网络直径和平均最短路径减小,平均度、聚类系数和节点紧密度都有不同程度增加,使整个路网的可达性得到了一定的提高,网络承载力变大.     

基于旅客运输可达性的空间均衡模型

本文旨在研究旅客运输对于商品空间流动的影响,从而探寻适合区域经济发展的最优交通方式组合. 传统的空间均衡模型只考虑货运价格的因素,而忽略了商务旅客运输对于区域间贸易的作用. 本文在传统的空间均衡模型中加入旅客运输的约束,提出了客运支撑系数的概念,构建了一个包含旅客运输的空间均衡模型. 新模型克服了传统空间均衡模型缺点,考察旅客运输对于货物贸易的支撑作用,从时间花费角度说明客运可达性对于货物贸易的影响. 并结合算例,分析不同的交通方式组合对区域间贸易量和均衡价格的作用和影响. 分析结果表明：区域经济合作和贸易发展既需要便宜的货物运输方式,也需要快速、可达的旅客运输方式     

区域高等级公路网交通状态识别与分析模型研究

为了在区域内分析高等级路网交通状态,建立了一种区域高等级路网交通状态分析模型.首先分析路网结构并对路段的交通状态进行识别分类,建立在实时交通状态下的区域高等级路网模型;然后基于路网模型运用系统结构分析法建立路网交通状态分析模型,根据不同交通状态分析需求得到不同的交通状态可达矩阵,并对可达矩阵分层分析.实例分析表明:该模...     

Accessibility: an evaluation using consumer welfare

This study explores the worth consumers place on mode-destination accessibility for the AM journey to work trip. To accomplish this, a multinomial mode-destination choice model is estimated and the denominator of the specified logit model is used as an estimate of mode-destination accessibility. To improve the interpretability of this measure, compensating variation is then applied to convert the mode-destination accessibility to units of dollars per AM journey to work trip. The model is estimated using travel survey data from the Puget Sound Region in Washington state. It is reasonable to assume, for example, that the worth placed on mode-destination accessibility varies by mode, by destination, and by market segment (e.g., low income, high income). Less intuitive, however, are the magnitude and direction of these variations. This paper presents a methodological approach, followed by an empirical evaluation, for examining the worth of journey to work mode- destination accessibility. The results have important policy implications and also provide a mechanism for incorporating a monetary value for accessibility in future cost-benefit analyses.     

交通效率的度量方法研究

在全面分析交通效率内涵的基础上,提出了4种交通效率度量方法,即可达性、机动性、生产率、效用方法。分析了各种方法的优点与局限性。对珠江三角洲两个城市高速公路网络交通效率的验证分析表明这4种方法意义明确、算法简便。经进一步的理论分析,可以认为,这4种度量交通效率的方法将为规划工程师和决策人员提供直观、丰富而又简练的信息和决策帮助。     

An Evaluation of the Accessibility Benefits of Commuter Rail in Eastern Massachusetts using Spatial Hedonic Price Functions

We estimate spatial hedonic price functions to examine local and regional accessibility benefits of commuter rail service in Eastern Massachusetts, while controlling for proximity-related negative externalities and other confounding influences. The data include 1,860 single-family residential properties from four municipalities with commuter rail service, and three municipalities without commuter rail service. We find some evidence of the capitalization of accessibility to commuter rail stations. Two model specifications suggest that properties located in municipalities with commuter rail stations exhibit values that are between 9.6% and 10.1% higher than properties in municipalities without a commuter rail station. With a third model we detect weak evidence of the capitalization of auto access time or walking time to the stations, suggesting that properties located within a one-half mile buffer of a station have values that are 10.1% higher than properties located outside of this buffer area and that an additional minute of drive time from the station is related to a decrease of 1.6% in property values. Our results also indicate that proximity to commuter rail right-of-way has a significant negative effect on property values, which suggests that for every 1,000 ft. in distance from the commuter rail right-of-way, property values are between $732 and $2,897 higher, all else held equal. At the mean sample values, this result translates into an elasticity of between 0.03 and 0.13, depending on the functional form of the hedonic price equation.     

A GIS-based planning approach to locating urban rail terminals

This paper develops a flexible GIS-based methodology for evaluating the potential locations of terminal park-and-ride facilities along urban rail lines. The methodology differs from political-based approaches and traditional travel demand modeling in its use of an objective measure of accessibility to gage the suitability of a site. The methodology begins by constructing an index of derived demand for rail usage based on the local demographics. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used as a means of constructing an index of derived demand consistent with other passenger surveys. Next, trade areas or commutersheds are calculated for each candidate park-and-ride location based on realistic measures of accessibility and network based drive times, taking into account competition among candidates for riders. Following the analysis, the candidate locations and their commutersheds are delineated and visualized in the GIS environment. In summary, application of this method produces a site-specific suitability index that may be used to rank and compare potential park-and-ride locations. We illustrate how our approach fits within the context of the larger-scale corridor study as a complimentary means of refining the location of urban rail stations. The analysis uses the proposed rail system for Columbus Ohio as a case study. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.