Financing and Deploying Automated Freight Systems

Abstract

New technologies are bringing Automated Freight Systems (AFS), which aim to reduce congestion, mitigate environmental impacts and enhance public safety, to fruition. The financing and deployment issues of AFS differ from other Intelligent Transport System applications. This chapter briefly introduces major concepts of AFS. The financing strategies for these concepts are discussed, in which the government subsidies play an important role through the use of public-private partnership. Economies of scale and externalities of the current and new systems are discussed. In the discussion of the deployment of AFS, it is suggested that deployment schemes are highly correlated with financing strategies.