Municipalities in the U.S. and worldwide are constantly adjusting services and infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of the community - and transportation is no exception. Cities are tasked with reducing emissions, improving traffic flow, increasing pedestrian and bicyclist safety, and boosting quality of life with tight budgets and limited resources. These growing demands have spurred a diverse array of transit innovations that provide both short- and long-term benefits to local economies.
Spider Vans
It is no secret that the United States has a bit of an infrastructure problem when it comes to roadway maintenance. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates at least 65 percent of U.S. roads are rated in less than good condition, and it will cost about $120 billion between 2015 and 2020 to improve the condition of the nation’s highways and bridges. Currently, however, just $83.1 billion is being spent on roadway maintenance. Stalled funding and budgetary restrictions are inhibiting many states and municipalities from keeping up with road and bridge repairs to meet the growing needs of local drivers.
In response, many states are deploying spider vans throughout their roadways to collect data on the current conditions of community streets and highways. These spider vans have arms extending from the back equipped with cameras as well as global positioning equipment on the roof. The six computers found inside the vans collect and store the information gathered by the cameras that will be used by engineers to gain insight into what roads are in most need of repairs, Orlando Sentinel reported.
The spider vans, or automatic road analyzers, provide the necessary data to transit departments to comply with new federal rules requiring states to survey roads and set targets for improvements. Engineers apply data and images captured by the vans’ cameras to create digital color-coded maps that illustrate the conditions of the roads. The ratings are then used to help local leaders draw up a five-year maintenance plan, Orlando Sentinel reported.
Student Transit Software
Many cities have already adopted a public transportation app or online portal where users can access real-time information on schedules, traffic and other route updates. These tools help residents navigate the community more efficiently while enhancing the city’s engagement with the community.
In Medina, Ohio, however, the local school district has taken this idea a step further by adding a software service to its existing school bus routing and scheduling system. The communication upgrade allows parents in the school district to receive up-to-the-minute information about school bus routes, transportation service areas and schedules. The upgrades also include a new text message and email alert system that notifies parents if a specific bus is running late or a route has been changed.
Other features provided by the software service include:
- Bus schedule
- Distance of stops from an address
- Bus number
- Bus driver’s name
- School’s start and finish times
The overall goal of the new technology is to improve efficiency in getting students to and from schools, as well as reduce phone calls to the Transportation Department, Sun News reported.
Charging At The Speed Of Light
An innovation that has yet to become mainstream is new electric bus technology currently being tested in China. Researchers are fine-tuning the world’s fastest charging electric bus which takes 10 seconds to charge up and move to the next stop along its route. Each charge allows the bus to travel 5 kilometers before recharging, which is typically less than the average distance between stops.
The bus is also designed to use its energy more efficiently while moving. When the bus brakes or is negotiating slopes, the vehicle recycles 80 percent of potential energy for stage and subsequent use. This savings translates to a 30-50 percent reduction in electricity consumption compared to other electric buses. Furthermore, the bus is predicted to generate $200,000 in fuel savings compared to standard diesel buses over the lifetime of the vehicle, Gas2 reported.
The bus leverages supercapacitor technology that is able to function properly in extreme cold or hot conditions. The supercapacitors are made of organic carbon material and can charge and discharge more than one million times. The researchers expect the technology to boast a 12-year-life span, Gas2 reported.
Charging From Below
Also taking advantage of electric technology, new roadways designers are looking to charge electric vehicles while cars are driving on them. In the UK, researchers are testing Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer technology which allows drivers to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while driving. The experiments include equipping electric cars with wireless technology, as well as installing other tools underneath the road to generate the charge.
Electric buses that charge wirelessly during routes have already been tested worldwide, and South Korea is currently working on a 12-kilometer road that will fuel up an electric bus in motion. The technology making this possible is called shaped magnetic field in resonance (SMFIR), which involves the transfer of an electric charge via magnetic fields that re generated and captured by coils in the road and on the vehicle, Quartz reported.
Universal Fare Card
While the U.S. has primarily separated its different modes of transportation, many argue that efficiency could be improved with a more universal approach. In other parts of the world, cities and countries have adopted one fare card for all channels of transit that leverage RFID technology to speed up payments and increase convenience for riders.
In Hong Kong, for example, residents can use the Octopus Card for a wide array of public transit options including:
- Trams
- Buses
- Ferries
- Trains
- Parking meters
- Swimming pools
The Dutch have adopted the OV-chipkaart that provides access to public transit across the entire country, similar to Japan’s Pasmo pass that makes multimodal travel a breeze. Finland has introduced the Waltti card that functions in six different cities and is expected to expand its reach in the future.
Researchers in the U.S. have been experimenting with a unified payment mechanism for all transit systems that will not only improve rider convenience but also reduce redundant payments for each mode of transportation and speed up routes. Furthermore, researchers expect these mechanisms to function from mobile devices which would generate significant data transit agencies can use to optimize routes and resources.