Poster 14: How Will Self-Driving Vehicles Affect U.S. Megaregion Traffic? The Case of The Texas Triangle
(Room Palms Ballroom)
16 Jul 19
5:30 PM
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7:00 PM
Tracks:
Transportation Planning Impact Assessment
The Texas Triangle megaregion spans Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, contains 6% of the U.S. population, and generated 7% of U.S. GDP in 2010. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) and shared-autonomous vehicles (SAVs) may dramatically shift passenger and freight travel patterns across this and other regions over time. This work anticipates such impacts, by leveraging Texas’ Statewide Analysis Model (SAM) data and reflecting emerging mode alternatives, as well as changes in trip generation and destination choice. Models of passenger and freight travel across this megaregion under various technology and pricing scenarios provide estimates of evolving travel distances, vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and network congestion. A traditional travel demand modeling process with full feedback (of travel times and costs to destination choices) provides estimates of traffic patterns across the entire state of Texas, with megaregion results highlighted.