As one of the primary business centers of China, Guangzhou has been undergoing rapid growth and expansion. Over the past decade, the Guangzhou Municipality Government has significantly upgraded its transport infrastru...As one of the primary business centers of China, Guangzhou has been undergoing rapid growth and expansion. Over the past decade, the Guangzhou Municipality Government has significantly upgraded its transport infrastructure, especially with the highly beneficial expansion of its Subway Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) system.Positive steps have also been taken to continue planning the construction of new roads, a Bus Rapid Transit(BRT)system and other transportation facilities. Further administrative and regulatory measures have also been implemented to control the situation, such as the banning of motorcycles from the central city area and the limitation of new automobile registrations. However, Guangzhou continues to face serious challenges of traffic congestion in and around the city center owing to further intensification of its population with economic growth. The need to ease Guangzhou's stretched public transportation resources,and at the same time to support the realization of its"Eastward Advance" strategy, presents a unique challenge and opportunity to develop an advanced high-efficiency public transportation modality for Guangzhou, viz. the Group Rapid Transit(GRT) involving the use of automation-guided(driverless) smart-vehicles. This paper outlines the PRT/GRT(PRT: Personal Rapid Transit) smart-vehicle modality and also puts forth a proposal of Guangzhou's first GRT route as the city's first dedicated transportation link to the scenic landscape of the Eastern Tourism Zone.This GRT route will help in diffusing the city's traffic congestion as well as support the effectuation of Guangzhou's "Eastern Expansion" strategy, supplementing the ongoing expansion of the Guangzhou Municipality's subway MRT networks.展开更多
文摘As one of the primary business centers of China, Guangzhou has been undergoing rapid growth and expansion. Over the past decade, the Guangzhou Municipality Government has significantly upgraded its transport infrastructure, especially with the highly beneficial expansion of its Subway Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) system.Positive steps have also been taken to continue planning the construction of new roads, a Bus Rapid Transit(BRT)system and other transportation facilities. Further administrative and regulatory measures have also been implemented to control the situation, such as the banning of motorcycles from the central city area and the limitation of new automobile registrations. However, Guangzhou continues to face serious challenges of traffic congestion in and around the city center owing to further intensification of its population with economic growth. The need to ease Guangzhou's stretched public transportation resources,and at the same time to support the realization of its"Eastward Advance" strategy, presents a unique challenge and opportunity to develop an advanced high-efficiency public transportation modality for Guangzhou, viz. the Group Rapid Transit(GRT) involving the use of automation-guided(driverless) smart-vehicles. This paper outlines the PRT/GRT(PRT: Personal Rapid Transit) smart-vehicle modality and also puts forth a proposal of Guangzhou's first GRT route as the city's first dedicated transportation link to the scenic landscape of the Eastern Tourism Zone.This GRT route will help in diffusing the city's traffic congestion as well as support the effectuation of Guangzhou's "Eastern Expansion" strategy, supplementing the ongoing expansion of the Guangzhou Municipality's subway MRT networks.
