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From Break-Bulk to Box: Systemic Change through Simple Innovation

Transportation systems often appear immovable. Their infrastructure is massive, their networks complex, and their daily operation embedded in layers of regulation, labor, and habit. Change seems to come slowly, if at all. Yet history suggests that even the most entrenched systems can be fundamentally transformed— sometimes not by dramatic invention, but by the introduction of a relatively simple idea in the right context. The shift from break- bulk shipping to containerization is one such case. For generations, maritime freight was handled by human labor, one piece at a time. Crates, barrels, pallets, and sacks were hoisted aboard ships and arranged carefully by crews below deck. At each port of call, the process reversed. It was slow, labor- intensive, and expensive, but it worked. And because it worked, entire institutions— port authorities, labor unions, insurance systems, and international regulatory bodies— grew around it. This was the “ normal” state of global trade for much of t...
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Introduction to Driverless Vehicles and their eventual role in a sustainable transportation system.

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INTRODUCTION Although driverless vehicles are already on the road, it will be 10 to 20 years before we see substantial impact on transportation in general, and sustainability in particular. Yet even with this extended time frame it’s a subject that should receive attention from the sustainable transportation community. Because the technology that supports autonomous vehicles has the potential to have a profound impact on how we move goods and people throughout the developed world its not too early to start considering how to take advantage of opportunities the technology may present as well as anticipate possible negative outcomes. The paper includes an overview of the present state of affairs, an assessment of potential impacts on sustainability, and a historical perspective on changes in transportation and what they suggest about the road ahead.  The endless twenty years Before enrolling in the Master's Degree Program in Sustainable Transportation at the University of ...
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Blue Lanes - A Strategy for Integrating Driverless Mobility - Part 1

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The Road We Are On Driverless cars. Autonomous vehicles. This new era of mobility and its implementation by our largest corporations appears imminent. What are the urban planners to do? Looking at the tech alone there might be little we can do. Driverless vehicles represent one of the greatest technological challenges ever undertaken, and only automotive and technology companies possess the deep pockets (and lines of credit) necessary to develop it. It is a project that no government organization (outside the military) has the budget to undertake and too complex for any regulatory agency to effectively manage. But it is happening nonetheless. And why not let them build it for us? Driverless solutions are an attractive prospect for cash strapped governments already struggling with ageing infrastructure and increased travel demand.  However, the mobility systems developed by private corporations will give them great leverage in the transportation sector.  Ultimately the...
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Blue Lanes - A Strategy for Integrating Driverless Mobility

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The Blue Line The Driverless Road Planning for the driverless road Structure 1 The challenge It's the road stupid You think congestion is bad now Where has all the money gone? 2 A modest proposal Design guidelines 3 Why act now(summary) Its about the Road 4 Blue lanes in seattle Notes from an earlier revolution And one even earlier And before that Case Studies Why Blue? Intro to me and my vision For Multiple routes-intermittent usage.  Designated routes should have flexible timetables( think bike route during the day, deliveries at night, pedestrian mall/pop-up market on the weekends) Vehicle signaling.  No need for fixed signaling, av's used to announce oncoming traffic with projectors, flashing lights, and sounds(preferably music) Also, municipal governments must create a carrot and stick in order to do you effectively with mobility providers. Since you just woke government cannot Control the operation ...
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