Case Studies of Seven New Systems of Urban Transportation 690038

General Motors Research Laboratories has recently completed an Implementation Study of New Systems of Urban Transportation for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This has included the study of improved methods for the design, analysis, and socio-economic evaluation of new systems of urban transportation by means of which comprehensive planning of transportation may be achieved, taking into account user needs, urban planning goals and overall social objectives. The study has also included the conduct of seven case studies, each of a selected new system concept in a particular urban transportation application.

This paper describes the results of the seven case studies which apply a broad range of technology to some of the more urgent transportation requirements in certain American cities. Two of these systems (the Rail Pallet System and the Automated Highway), are automobile-oriented to complement evolutionary improvements in conventional freeway systems, three of the systems represent advances in motor coach public transit, and two of the systems (Network Cab and Multimodal Capsule) are for application in special areas and are designed to interface with both private and public modes of transportation. The study has enabled a number of conclusions to be drawn relative to the technical feasibility and cost of the several new system concepts, as well as the likely degree of their social acceptability.