"Tiny Transit"

Our speaker on 3/14 was Dr. Katie Kam, Ph.D. from the Center for Transportation Research and the University of Texas – Austin. She talked to us about “tiny transit,” which is the idea of creating a network of lanes for low speed vehicles – electric cars, bikes, electric bikes, and driver-less vehicles that travel at 25 mph or less and weigh less than 3000 pounds. This would create an option for neighborhood travel instead of using a regular-sized vehicle. These “tiny transit” vehicles would have minimal safety protection because they travel at low speeds. Other cities have experimented with creating lanes for these vehicles especially in some planned communities. The lanes would have barriers. A lane 12 feet wide creates two lanes for “tiny transit” vehicles. The trick with setting up such a network is coordinating building lanes and people buying these types of vehicles so lanes will be used. However, such a system could help with local traffic and would create an affordable option for some people – the cars cost $3,000 to $14,000 depending upon whether they are new or used. The Center for Transportation Research has been in discussion with Austin city officials and other officials about how such a network might work for the Austin metro area.