BMW and Audi are studying ways to improve fuel efficiency using strategies that outside of the vehicle.
BMW has reported great success in improving traffic flow by adjusting the timing of traffic lights, and Audi is working on a concept they call "travolution."
From Audi's press release: The "travolution project is a concept for a dialogue between cars and traffic signals. It reduces the amount of time spent at a standstill or accelerating, and in this way cuts the vehicles' fuel consumption."
Bengt Halvorson at The Car Connection reports on BMW's activities:
"Through a test course in Munich, vehicles were able to post phenomenal fuel-efficiency gains simply by adjusting the timing of traffic lights depending on traffic volume-to whatever speed provides a so-called 'green wave' of four or more synchronized signals."
FULL STORY: BMW And Audi Congestion Strategies Look To Smart Signals
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research