Demo 2003 Falls Prey to California Budget Woes
IVsource.net
10 March 2003

Due to budget pressures at the state level, Demo 2003 is no longer.

Demo 2003, one of the most visible initiatives in the US intelligent vehicle world, has been cancelled -- or at least put on the back burner, say officials.

The Demo, originally scheduled for August 16-20, was officially entitled “A Demonstration and Conference Showcasing the Benefits of  Automated Transit Buses and Commercial Trucks in the 21^st Century.”  It has formed the centerpiece of efforts by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in recent years to advance concepts for automated vehicle operations.

Caltrans' premise is that automated vehicles operating in coordinated fashion on the state’s freeways constitute the only viable approach to alleviating their world renowned traffic congestion.  The agency sees bus and truck automation as a key stepping stone to bringing this technology to everyday cars, possibly as soon as the next decade.  Technology development for their program is conducted by  California PATH researchers at the University of California-Berkeley.

According to sources, top officials in Sacramento, struggling to handle a monumental budget deficit, felt that the Demo could result in negative media coverage by potentially being criticized as an unnecessary luxury in such difficult times.

Ironically, most of the budget has already been spent in preparing a fleet of automated buses and trucks.  The good news is that Caltrans will still retain a capability to provide test rides to interested stakeholders, and on this basis they plan to continue their efforts to engage the truck and transit communities to examine new forms of transport based on automation.

On the truck side, Caltrans and others have studied and advocated exclusive truckways for some high-freight corridors, and implementation studies of Bus Rapid Transit techniques based on bus-only lanes and automated guidance are underway as well.

Note, however, that the USA is not completely bereft of demos this year.  In fact, the truth is far from it -- the University of Minnesota has demonstrations planned during the ITS America Annual Meeting in May; Ohio State University is planning vehicle demos along with its sponsorship of  the IEEE Intelligent Vehicles 2003 conference in June; and the US Department of Transportation will hold demonstrations along with its 2^nd National IVI Meeting, also taking place in June.

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