Abstract Summary
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will impact roadway safety, congestion, mode splits, trip distances, and air quality. We estimate the net social benefits of each AV to be nearly $4,000 per year, thanks to crash savings, travel time reductions, and parking benefits. This seminar will examine the design & results of agent-based models for shared AV (SAV) operations. Results suggest that SAV costs and prices will be relatively low (e.g., under $1 per mile, especially when shared en route), with empty-vehicle travel on the order of 10 to 20 percent of fleet VMT. If SAVs are smaller and/or electric, and dynamic ride-sharing (DRS) is enabled and regularly used, emissions and energy demand may fall. If road tolls are thoughtfully applied, using GPS across all congested segments and times of day, total VKT may not rise: instead, travel times - and their unreliability - may fall. If credit-based congestion pricing is used, traveler welfare may rise and transportation systems may ultimately operate near-optimally. This presentation will present research relating to all these topics, to help engineers and their communities to strategically ensure a better future.
