Costa Samaras, Carnegie Mellon University

The combination of vehicle automation and electrification has the potential to fundamentally change the transportation sector. Vehicle crashes, traffic congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and other negative externalities associated with driving could significantly diminish. However, travel may increase with these vehicles, pollution could be concentrated in new areas, and the life cycle impacts become more important. Methods from engineering, economics, and policy sciences can inform stakeholders at the beginning of the transition to automation on maximizing the benefits and minimizing the challenges. This talk will present recent research on the implications of municipalities transitioning fleets to electric light-duty vehicles and eventual automation. The life cycle environmental, economic, and infrastructure outcomes will be presented, as well as the feasibility of coupling municipal vehicle travel with distributed solar energy. The talk will also highlight several recent research efforts in automation: the impact of automation on VMT from underserved populations, the social cost-effectiveness of early automation features, the implications of automation on vehicle fuel economy testing and policy, and the implications of driverless vehicles on urban parking and energy use.