Intelligent Vehicle Highway System: Advanced Public Transportation Systems

A major program of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 [1] is the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway System (IVHS). This program seeks technological methods to increase the capacity of the existing transportation infrastructure. Although private automobiles are the major focus of the IVHS program, it also seeks improvements in the public transportation system. This paper addresses the public transportation component, known as the Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS). A future vision of an Advanced Public Transportation System is presented, providing a unifying framework for the proposed enhancements to user services. A “bus hub” structure is presented that increases the quality and attractiveness of the system for users, operators, and traffic managers. Also, the importance of APTS to the goals of the IVHS program are discussed.