Abstract: The present invention contemplates a distributed automatic control system for preventing the vehicle bunching. Information of vehicle locations is automatically detected and used to determine the positions and velocities of vehicles along a route. Vehicles pass predetermined points, such as stations, along the route. Information about whether the vehicle skipped the station, arrived at the station, or departed from the station, is automatically calculated based on the position and velocity information. This information is distributed among the vehicles that belong to the same route. An in-vehicle controller dynamically calculates holding times at each station and displays the information to the driver so that buses do not get too close to one another, thereby preventing bunching while maintaining appropriate speeds of the vehicles.

Abstract: The present invention contemplates a distributed automatic control system for preventing the vehicle bunching. Information of vehicle locations is automatically detected and used to determine the positions and velocities of vehicles along a route. Vehicles pass predetermined points, such as stations, along the route. Information about whether the vehicle skipped the station, arrived at the station, or departed from the station, is automatically calculated based on the position and velocity information. This information is distributed among the vehicles that belong to the same route. An in-vehicle controller dynamically calculates holding times at each station and displays the information to the driver so that buses do not get too close to one another, thereby preventing bunching while maintaining appropriate speeds of the vehicles.