Cooperative Automated Transportation (CAT)
The concept is intentionally expansive. It looks beyond existing, developing, and planned transportation concepts to a fully integrated system serving travelers, goods, and services. CAT includes all modes, systems, and uses of surface transportation, whether by light or commercial vehicle, mass transit, shared mobility service, or bicycle or scooter. CAT is automated in vehicles, infrastructure, and operations—in traffic management, intersection safety, fare collection, mobility services, trip planning and more. CAT is cooperative across the public and private sectors, policies, modes, and services. It requires reliable, low-latency, high-bandwidth communications, two-way data, and information exchange among all users, managers, and operators.
Cooperative Automated Transportation includes:
- Modes: automobile, truck, plane, van, bus, rail, ferry, bicycle, scooter, pedestrian, etc.
- Systems: vehicles, infrastructure, information, communications, etc.
- Applications: traffic management, fare collection, mobility services, trip planning, etc.
Other names
- CAT
- Cooperative Automated Transportation
Strategy description
Cooperative automated transportation (CAT), including autonomous and connected vehicles, is an evolving field within transportation. Visit the WSDOT CAT website for more information on their program.
Benefits of Cooperative Automated Transportation
Cooperative Automated Transportation, also called autonomous and connected vehicles, has several anticipated benefits, including:
Safety
- CAT technology has the potential to reduce the more than 90 percent of crashes caused by human error.
Mobility & equity
- Increasing mobility for all, including those who cannot drive, improves independence and quality of life.
Sustainability & environment
- Vehicles communicating with each other and transportation systems can help reduce congestion, crashes, idling and emissions.
- This is good for the environment, the public and the livability of our communities.
Efficient travel
- Cooperative automated transportation investments can make our existing infrastructure and multimodal transportation systems more efficient – increasing the number of people traveling on existing roadways.
What you need in order to implement
We are focusing on how all transportation modes work together and share information between interdependent vehicles, pedestrians and coordinated transportation systems. Work includes:
- Developing a policy framework considering both community and regional transportation system needs to shape investment priorities
- Advancing Mobility on Demand through collaboration and data standardization.
- Creating opportunities for WSDOT partnerships – regionally and nationally – with industry, local and other partners.
- Pursuing sustainable funding to support our cooperative automated transportation efforts.
- Strategically deciding how best to use existing resources, including technology.
Learn more about this strategy
WSDOT envisions a future where automated, connected, electrified, and shared mobility contributes toward a safe and efficient transportation system that emphasizes public transit and active transportation and promotes livable (walkable/bikeable), economically vibrant communities with affordable housing and convenient access to jobs and other activity centers.
What is WSDOT doing?
WSDOT’s cooperative automated transportation program focuses on how all methods of transportation work together and share information among interdependent vehicles, pedestrians and coordinated transportation systems.
Work includes:
- Developing a CAT Policy Framework (PDF 486 kb) considering both community and regional transportation system needs to shape investment priorities.
- Advancing Mobility on Demand through collaboration and data standardization.
- Creating opportunities for WSDOT partnerships – regionally and nationally – with industry, local and other partners.
- Pursuing sustainable funding to support the agency’s CAT efforts.
- Strategically deciding how best to use existing resources, including technology.
About key characteristics
Technology notes:
Technology is changing the transportation landscape by affecting:
- The physical transportation infrastructure through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS),
- Private and commercial vehicles through ADAS, CV, and AV technology, and
- How individuals and businesses service their mobility needs through MaaS and MOD.
CAT considers all three technology thrusts that will influence the future of transportation in Washington. CAT includes both cooperation (i.e. individuals or modes of transportation work in concert to provide travelers a range of safe, sustainable, and integrated mobility choices) and automation (i.e. some or all of the functions of mobility, such as driving, payments, traffic management systems, and enforcement are automated).
Based on the direction established by the Legislature and input gathered from internal and external partners, the Infrastructure & Systems Subcommittee is developing a CAT policy framework to guide the use and application of this technology.