Congestion Reduction and Management Technologies

The questions in sections 1 and 2 deal with the following five technologies.

1. Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) and Personal Travel Assistants (PTA): More accurate GPS enables better navigation systems. Real-time information on traffic delays enables personalized public transit information system, and advanced route guidance capabilities.
   
   
2. Adaptive Ramp Metering: Adaptive ramp metering includes algorithms that ensure efficient traffic flow by controlling number and frequency of vehicles entering the freeway system through on-ramp signals.
   
   
3. Smart Cards and RFID: RFID transponders and Smartcards will become increasingly common methods of toll and transit fare payments. Improvements in efficiency will enable use of RFID transponders in open road tolling where vehicles are not required to slow down to record toll transactions.
   
   
4. Personal Rapid Transit: Personal Rapid Transit system comprise fully automated vehicles capable of operation without human drivers over a reserved guideway. Personal Rapid Transit can provide on-demand, origin-to-destination service.
   
   
5. Collaborative Technologies: Collaborative technologies include communication, conferencing, and collaborative management tools. All the above collaborative technologies encourage telecommuting and novel methods for social interaction and entertainment.
   
   

Section 1. Assume all of the above technologies are in place and are performing to their best potential. How do you rate the technologies with respect to their impact on congestion reduction? In the table below, each row represents a separate pair-wise comparison. First choose which of the two technologies is better and then tell us how much better you consider it to be: 1-Equally, 3-Moderately, 5-Strongly, 7-Very strongly, and 9-Absolutely. The even numbers in between suggest intermediate importance values.

Section 2. In the following questions, we are interested in your opinion on the likely degree of penetration (% of individuals using the technology) for these technologies.

What percentage of work trips are likely to be replaced by VoIP, Webinar, HD Video Conferencing and other telecommuting technologies?
Next 10 years %
Next 20 years %

We would like your general comments, if any, on the above congestion reduction technologies:

Traffic safety and security technology

The questions in sections 3 and 4 deal with the following five technologies.

1. Vehicle-to-vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication: V2V and V2I can enable several safety applications (such as collision avoidance) by enabling communication among vehicles and transportation infrastructure.
   
   
2. Machine Vision: Machine vision can deduct lane markings, vehicles, pedestrians, road signs, traffic conditions, traffic incidents, and even driver drowsiness. It can be used to improve traffic safety.
   
   
3. MEMS and Nanosensors: Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) can be used in traffic safety applications such as advanced driver assistance systems, crash detection, and electronic stability control. Nanosensors track bio-terror agents and stress in materials.
   
   
4. Automated Vehicles: Adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, collision avoidance are all part of intelligent or automated vehicles. Automated vehicles improve safety by reducing accidents.
   
   
5. Biometric Identification: Biometric identification includes finger-print, face, DNA, hand geometry, voice, retina and Iris identification. Primary applications in transportation include for security, fare-payment, and access restriction.
   
   

Section 3. Assume all of the above technologies are in place and are performing to their best potential. Which technology is likely to improve safety to a greater extent? In the table below, each row represents a separate pair-wise comparison. First choose which of the two technologies is better and then tell us how much better you consider it to be: 1-Equally, 3-Moderately, 5-Strongly, 7-Very strongly, and 9-Absolutely. The even numbers in between suggest intermediate importance values.

Section 4. In the following questions, we are interested in your opinion on the likely degree of penetration (% of vehicles fitted with the technology) for these technologies.

We would like your general comments, if any, on the above safety and security technologies:

Energy and Environment Technologies

The questions in section 5 deal with the following five fuel technologies.

1. Natural Gas and Propane: Propane, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP-gas) and Natural Gas have the following advantages: excellent properties for spark-ignited internal combustion engines, an exceptionally safe fuel, non-toxic and presents no threat to soil, surface water, or groundwater, compared with vehicles fueled by conventional diesel and gasoline, propane and natural gas vehicles can produce significantly lower amounts of some harmful emissions and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
   
   
2. Biogas: Biogas is the gaseous product of the anaerobic digestion (decomposition without oxygen) of organic matter and is a CO2-neutral source of energy. Advantages of biogas as an alternative fuel include: domestic, renewable resource, directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by preventing methane release into the atmosphere, anaerobic digestion systems (non-landfill) treat waste naturally, require less land area than aerobic composting, reduce the amount of material that must be land filled, reduce waste odors, and produce sanitized compost and nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer.
   
   
3. Bio-diesel and Ethanol: Ethanol is a renewable transportation fuel primarily made from starch crops, such as corn. It is also made from sugar beets and cane or cellulosic materials, such as fast-growing trees and grasses. Biodiesel is a liquid fuel made up of fatty acid alkyl esters, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), or long-chain mono alkyl esters. It is produced from a variety of natural crops including rapeseed, soybean, mustard, flax, sunflower, canola, palm oil, hemp, jatropha and waste vegetable oils.
   
   
4. Electric-driven and Hybrid vehicles: Electric vehicles use on-board batteries for propulsion. Hybrid vehicles use two or more sources of energy for propulsion. There are no tailpipe emissions in electric vehicles but the emissions can be generated in the electricity production process.
   
   
5. Hydrogen Fuel: Hydrogen fuel is clean-burning, has high potential for domestic production, a fuel with high efficiency. The energy in 2.2 lb (1 kg) of hydrogen gas is about the same as the energy in 1 gallon of gasoline. Hydrogen is currently very expensive because it is difficult to generate, handle, and store.
   
   

Section 5. A key determinant of future energy sources is the set of policies adopted by governments and corporations involved in energy production. In terms of these policy decisions over the next 20 years which fuel types are more likely to be developed and promoted? In the table below, each row represents a separate pair-wise comparison. First choose which of the two technologies is more likely to be developed and promoted and then tell us how much more likely you consider it to be: 1-Equally likely, 3-Moderately, 5-Strongly, 7-Very strongly, and 9-Absolutely more likely. The even numbers in between suggest intermediate importance values.

Finally, we would like your general comments on the above fuel technologies: