Category Archives: Transportation

New Survey Research on Autonomous Vehicles

Posted on June 22, 2016 by matt ohern

I continue to be concerned about visions of an autonomous vehicle future based not only on the impressive capabilities of fully (level 4) self-driving cars but also of fleets of robotaxis replacing personal vehicles. These would, indeed, be major changes. … Continue reading →

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Let's Prepare for the Next Uber Revolution

Posted on June 9, 2016 by matt ohern

Uber and Lyft, known mainly for providing taxi-like services, may find sprawling Sun-Belt cities to be the most hospitable markets for their new car-pooling services. That’s one of the conclusions arising from a new Morgan Stanley report on the proliferation … Continue reading →

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Time for Road Tunnels

Posted on June 9, 2016 by matt ohern

The Wall Street Journal‘s recent special report, “The Future of Cities,” included an article on large road tunnels (“Boring Has Never Been So Exciting,” by Daniel Michaels). It celebrated the great improvement in cost-effective tunneling made possible by the invention … Continue reading →

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Platooning and Dedicated Truck Lanes

Posted on May 25, 2016 by matt ohern

Interest continues to grow in making use of partial automation to enable big-rigs to travel close together in platoons on long-distance highways. In addition to reduced accidents from partial automation (lane-keeping and connected adaptive cruise control), platooning offers significant reductions … Continue reading →

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North Virginia's Metro is Failing

Posted on April 27, 2016 by matt ohern

How bad is the Washington Metro rail system? So bad that only 84% of its trains ran on time, mainly due to poor maintenance. So bad that ridership declined 5% since 2010, even as transit ridership nationally was up. So bad that the system needs an extra $1.3 billion every year to invest in capital projects, and no one knows where the money will come from. The Metro rail system is so bad that even the Washington Post has perked up and taken notice. Continue reading →

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