A Disaggregate Transportation Demand Model for the Analysis of an Autonomous Taxi System in New Jersey

Abstract

Transportation is an essential and dynamic part of every society. Constant changes in the economy and the environment demand innovative modes of travel. Natural resource constraints and recent adverse human impact on the climate demand efficient means of transportation. The autonomous taxi is an innovative and easy to implement technology that has the potential to offer the comfort and convenience of personal vehicles while exceeding the efficiency of mass transit systems. This project provides a travel demand model for a typical weekday in New Jersey as part of an effort to analyze the feasibility of an autonomous taxi system in urban areas. This report contains the methodology used to build and refine the model as well as the spatial and temporal dimensions of the 32.6 million simulated trips for the 9 million residents and workers of New Jersey. The trips are used to study the feasibility of an autonomous taxi system as well as daily ridership for New Jersey Transit trains.