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Intelligent Transportation Systems
Efficiency, Equity and Fairness


David Bernstein
James Madison University

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At the Core of the Issues
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  • Heterogeneity
    • The relevant population (users and others) is comprised of dissimilar people
  • Differential Impacts
    • As a result, different people/groups may be affected differently
Why Should We Care?
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  • Public Sector Involvement
    • The government is/will be a major provider of IVHS services and some services may not be deemed appropriate
  • Implementability
    • Ignoring these issues may result in public opposition
  • Social Responsibility
    • Societies can only succeed if their members worry about these kinds of issues
Framework
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  • Efficient Policies
    • Social welfare is increased (a utilitarian concept)
    • Kaldor-Hicks criterion
  • Equitable Policies
    • Nobody is worse off (an egalitarian concept)
    • Pareto criterion
  • Fair/Superfair Policies
    • People would rather have what they have than what others have
    • Envy criterion (Baumol)
Look Good but Inefficient?
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  • Ramp metering
    • May result in engine mode shifts that increase emissions (which may have a social cost)
  • Electronic Toll Collection
    • Possible increase in equilibrium travel cost (Braess)
  • Other Information and Control Systems
    • Possible induced demand and associated costs
Efficient but Inequitable?
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  • Congestion Pricing
    • Can result in total reductions in travel costs but some groups may gain at the expense of others (even when revenues are redistributed)
  • Route Guidance
    • May reduce travel time on some routes but increase travel time on others
Efficient and Equitable but Unfair?
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  • In-vehicle Signing
    • Can result in total reductions in travel costs without anyone's cost increasing but some groups may have it and others may want it
Related Concerns
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  • Should current information, predicted information, guidance, and control be treated differently?
  • Can we ethically provide information/controls that are consistent with people's desires (e.g., don't route me through a `bad' neighborhood)?
  • What are the appropriate roles for the public and private sectors (national defense is probably not a good model)?
Conclusions
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  • Systems should really be intelligent
  • A truly `intelligent' transportation system must display sound judgment
  • Advanced technology is not enough, it must be applied in a rational way
There's Always More to Learn
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