Systems Analysis and Optimization

This thrust delves deeply into system-level efficiencies, travel demand, energy use, and the resilience and security of transportation systems amidst the integration of (C)AVs and new mobility solutions. The aim is to enhance operational tools for commercial and freight applications, facilitate multimodal systems, and ensure the safety and reliability of the system. Special emphasis is placed on developing tools, datasets, and methods that enable comprehensive research into these topics. This means not only analyzing planned scenarios but also identifying transition strategies that explore and navigate unintended consequences to achieve more sustainable, equitable outcomes when these technologies and services are deployed at scale. Moreover, the datasets and tools generated from this thrust are expected to inform and enable deeper analyses for the Land Use and Urban Planning and Equitable Use and Impacts thrusts, ensuring a cohesive and integrated approach to understanding the impacts of new mobility systems.

Key research areas include:

System Safety: Examining safety impacts on pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users, as well as safety frameworks and strategies for integrating new technologies into existing transportation.
Mobility Efficiencies: Exploring the impact of new mobility on demand, congestion, and energy consumption.
Commercial and Freight Operations: Investigating the role of new mobility, especially AVs, in improving access to goods and services.
Multimodal systems: Determining the potential of new mobility in multimodal networks.
Data Strategy: Exploring data requirements for analyzing system impacts of new mobility technologies and services.