The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s autonomous Freight Shuttle System (FSS) was recently listed as one of 40 proposed U.S. transportation and water infrastructure project of major economic significance in a study published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The study, authored over the past year by a team of third-party, independent infrastructure experts, highlights how investing in infrastructure projects may generate economic benefits for businesses, consumers, travelers and residents across the country.
The FSS operates on its own guideway using individual, autonomous transporters carrying truck trailers or shipping containers, and is powered by linear-induction electric motors. It borrows the best characteristics from both truck and rail transport, and uses only about one-third the energy required by diesel trucks.
“I’m very pleased that the FSS was listed in this Treasury Department study,” says TTI Senior Research Scientist and FSS inventor Steve Roop. “The freight industry faces mounting challenges such as strained rail and roadway system capacity, environmental concerns and a chronic shortage of truck drivers. We believe the FSS is a game changer in terms of moving freight into the future.”
The FSS is listed on pages 44-45 of the Proposed U.S. Transportation and Water Infrastructure Projects of Major Economic Significance online report.