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Discusses the current problems facing the transportation system in Los Angeles, CA, & some potential solutions. Although the extensive highway transportation system & automobile dependency in Los Angeles have allowed rapid growth & promoted business & recreation mobility, these gains have come at the expense of certain social costs: massive air pollution, the time & labor costs of freeway congestion, & the denial of opportunities to the carless. Government solutions to these problems are expansion of the rail system & transportation demand management, eg, carpool matching, sponsored vanpools, preferred parking for carpools, & transit & ride-sharing subsidies. It is argued that these programs are unlikely to succeed unless they are combined with measures that require auto users to pay for the social costs of their usage; such measures would include increases in fuel taxes, registration fees, & road pricing. Further, technology must be used to reduce the social costs of transportation & more flexible alternatives must be offered. 4 Tables, 3 Figures, 23 References. T. Sevier

Objective Identify factors that impact parents' decisions about allowing an unaccompanied child to ride in an autonomous vehicle (AV). Background AVs are being tested in several U.S. cities and on highways in multiple states. Meanwhile, suburban parents are using ridesharing services to shuttle children from school to extracurricular activities. Parents may soon be able to hire AVs to transport children. Method Nineteen parents of 8- to 16-year-old children, and some of their children, rode in a driving simulator in autonomous mode, then were interviewed. Parents also participated in focus groups. Topics included minimum age for solo child passengers, types of trips unaccompanied children might take, and vehicle features needed to support child passengers. Results Parents would require two-way audio communication and prefer video feeds of vehicle interiors, seatbelt checks, automatic locking, secure passenger identification, and remote access to vehicle information. Parents cited convenience as the greatest benefit and fear that AVs could not protect passengers during unplanned trip interruptions as their greatest concern. Conclusion Manufacturers have an opportunity to design family-friendly AVs from the outset, rather than retrofit them to be safe for child passengers. More research, especially usability studies where families interact with technology prototypes, is needed to understand how AV design impacts child passengers. Application Potential applications of this research include not only designing vehicles that can be used to safely transport children, seniors who no longer drive, and individuals with disabilities but also developing regulations, policies, and societal infrastructure to support safe child transport via AVs.