We are a diverse team of researchers and stakeholders from government, private sector, academia, and the communities we serve.

ACCEL-RT proposes a pathway from research to demonstration to deployment that will identify the rural automated vehicle (RAV) technologies that will best help communities along the I-40 Corridor in the Southwest. We are interested in three categories of RAV use-cases - last mile delivery, RAVs on rural roads, and RAVs in a logistics hub.

Rural communities are frequently underserved by the current transportation network, which creates major issues around accessibility, safety, healthcare, equity, and workforce/economic development. By creating a multimodal logistics supply chain enabled by automation, ACCEL-RT seeks to ameliorate some of these issues with respect to freight movement.

Q1: What freight movement-related challenges do rural & Tribal communities in New Mexico and Oklahoma face, and can automation help resolve those challenges?

Q2: Does the Tribal/rural community present unique challenges and opportunities for automated vehicle technologies relative to urban environments?

In addition to the above two research questions, the RAV use case research will also evaluate factors such as current technology availability, potential positive impacts, likelihood of community engagement, and potential for viable deployment pathway(s). Regarding the last point, ACCEL-RT is only interested in near-term viable AV technologies; those that are already available and/or are seeing heavy private sector development. As such, any RAV application must adhere to existing federal requirements (e.g., FMVSS).

ACCEL-RT is built upon the broader vision of the I-40 TradePort Corridor, which re-imagines goods movement as an integrated, intelligent, automation-enabled, emissions-free supply chain. Crucial to realizing this vision is a trained workforce from the local, and mostly rural, communities. Consequently, we will measure impact according to the following key performance indicators: (1) decreased shipping costs, (2) increased shipping speed, (3) reduced crash risk, (4) reduced emissions, and (5) increased job opportunities across selected regions and communities.

Additionally, we aim to understand and resolve equity-related issues, such as transportation costs, access, and safety. Specifically, we will assess and report how the projects remove transportation-related disparities from all population groups in the project area, including older Americans, low-income households, and people with disabilities.