Ride quality criteria and characteristics are reviewed for advanced ground transportation systems, including automated guideway transit systems, downtown people movers, and tracked, levitated magnetic and air suspended vehicle systems. Data available for these advanced systems are described and the use of computer analyses and multiaxis ride simulators is discussed to predict system ride characteristics at the design stage. Recommendations are formulated for specification of ride quality requirements in advanced ground transportation systems.

In the last decade a number of new public transportation systems have been developed. Automated guideway transit (AGT) systems that use rubber-tired vehicles operated on dedicated guideways under automatic control have been developed (JJ and are opera ting at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; in Morgantown, West Virginia; and in Dearborn, Michigan. Proposals have been formulated to implement systems similar to these systems in several central-city business districts as part of the downtown people mover (DPM) project (~. l• Research has also been performed on tracked, levitated vehicle (TLV) systems that use magnetic or air suspension in the