HighLight Heading
November 2009
Researchers demonstrate next-generation bus; fleet planned for USDOT congestion relief program
Craig Shankwitz
The next generation of Twin Cities transit took center stage at the 2009 ITS Minnesota Fall Forum, as Intelligent Vehicles Laboratory (IV Lab) director Craig Shankwitz presented a driver-assistive system for buses operating on bus-only shoulders and bus lanes. The IV Lab is part of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute, which is housed at CTS.
The annual event, sponsored by the Minnesota chapter of ITS America, brings together companies, transportation professionals, and researchers to exchange information on ITS projects around the state.
A fleet of 10 buses equipped with the new system is scheduled to go into service next year as part of a new effort to reduce congestion and improve public transportation in the Twin Cities region. The high-tech “Bus 2.0” vehicles will be operated by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority along the I-35W/Cedar Avenue commuting corridor that connects downtown Minneapolis and the southern suburbs. The technology developed by the IV Lab will help bus drivers operate safely on narrow bus-only highway shoulders.
The project is one of several strategies to reduce congestion in the Twin Cities that are being implemented with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Agreement program. Minnesota is one of five states selected by the USDOT to receive funding under the program. Local UPA stakeholders include the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the City of Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, and Scott, Hennepin, Anoka, Dakota, and Ramsey Counties. (On September 28 state and federal leaders celebrated the opening of two new transit stations and the launch of a new MnPASS Express Lane on I-35W, elements of Minnesota’s UPA.)
A forum attendee views Bus 2.0 technology
Forum attendees had a chance see how the system operates during the midday break. Shankwitz and research fellow Eddie Arpin, who developed a key component of the guidance system, welcomed visitors to a fully equipped bus parked outside and gave demonstrations of various onboard systems.
The driver-assistive system is intended to help bus operators use narrow bus-only shoulders and bus lanes. The Twin Cities has an extensive network of bus-only shoulders, which allow bus drivers to bypass congestion on the main roadway, especially during peak traffic hours when commuters crowd the roads. But operating a 9-foot-wide bus in a 10-foot-wide shoulder is inherently difficult, Shankwitz noted—especially during the winter, when drifting snow can obscure the lane boundaries, and at night.
The system keeps track of the bus’s exact location down to a few centimeters using a combination of high-accuracy GPS, onboard sensors, and digital maps. Forward-looking radar units and side-mounted laser scanners constantly track nearby vehicles. A head-up display, similar to those used in advanced military aircraft, projects lane boundaries and markers for other vehicles onto the driver’s field of view, while a digital display shows vehicles alongside and behind the bus. The system also includes touch-based feedback mechanisms in the steering wheel and driver’s seat that warn the operator if the bus begins to drift out of the shoulder lane.
By allowing bus drivers to use shoulder lanes safely in inclement conditions, the driver-assistive system aims to improve bus schedule adherence—one of the most important factors for commuters on tight schedules, such as parents picking children up at day care centers, Shankwitz said.
In addition to better schedule adherence, another feature of Bus 2.0 likely to appeal to today’s transit users is the onboard mobile wi-fi hotspot. The driver-assistive system requires a high-bandwidth connection to receive positioning data, but the system itself uses only a fraction of the available bandwidth—so the IV Lab researchers put the rest at the disposal of passengers, who will be able to check their e-mail, send files to the office, or just browse the Internet while they commute.
For more about the work of the IV Lab.