Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium: Skills Gap & Needs Assessment, Tyler Reeb, Benjamin Olson

Mineta Transportation Institute

The transit sector grows and evolves quickly with the needs of growing, busy cities. With this growth comes a need for more transit workers and more training to ensure workers can best serve their diverse communities. This report contains a transit training needs assessment and gap analysis to identify the most pressing challenges of the evolving transit workforce served by the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium (SCRTTC). Most importantly, this report documents and determines SCRTTC priorities to ensure the incumbent and future transit workforce is equipped with the professional and technological skills required to address the transformational trends affecting …

The Fresno State Transportation Challenge, Christian Wandeler, Steven Hart

Mineta Transportation Institute

The goal of the “Fresno State Transportation Challenge” was outreach to schools and community engagement, to provide K-8 students opportunities to learn about transportation and transportation-related careers, and to practice 21st century skills by solving a transportation-related issue in their community. Through the pedagogical frameworks of action civics and eduScrum (a method to facilitate self-managed teamwork with a visual board), teachers and students worked on solving issues in their community. They learned design thinking to identify issues and develop solutions while using eduScrum to manage their work. University students from transportation engineering visited the schools regularly to support the K-8 …

A Multi-Objective Optimization Model To Minimize The Gap In Accessibility To Multi-Use Paths While Maximizing The Economic Efficiency Of Active Transportation Investments For Fresno, California, Chih-Hao Wang

Mineta Transportation Institute

This research examines the accessibility to multi-use paths in a variety of neighborhoods in Fresno, California. This study aims to develop a multi-objective optimization modeling framework to be used by decision makers in transportation and policy to maximize the total accessibility to multi-use paths across the city while minimizing the gap between low- and high- accessibility neighborhoods by an optimal allocation of active transportation. Researchers calculate accessibility to multi-use paths by measuring the total length of multi-use paths (walkway and bikeway) a resident could reach from their own Census block group with a 30-minute cycling ride. The study employs a …

Effective Communication Message Strategy For Enhancing Traffic Safety In Fresno County: The Role Of Time Horizon, Regulatory Focus, And Perceived Personal Control, Samer Sarofim

Mineta Transportation Institute

This research empirically investigated the differential effect of message framing on message recipients’ attitudes and intended behaviors related to pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist traffic safety practices. The framework empirically investigated time horizon (expansive vs. limited) and regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion) message framing.

The time horizon in the message can make someone either think of the future (expansive) or the present (limited). For example, an expansive time horizon message communicates that life is long and directs the focus on the future. On the contrary, a limited time horizon message communicates that life is short and directs the focus on the …

Evaluating Crowdsourcing As A Vmt Reduction Tool To Support Smart Cities Initiatives, Shailesh Chandra, Rutviz Vyas, Ravi Mazin

Mineta Transportation Institute

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is an indicator of vehicular emissions, which impacts climate change. Various stakeholders aim at reducing VMT to cause reductions in emissions. This research explores the use of crowdsourcing in supporting the efforts of the stakeholders in reducing VMT among college students at California State University Long Beach. Crowdsourcing is emerging as a very promising tool in finding solutions to problems otherwise impossible to solve without a collective human intelligence. A smartphone application is developed to collect travel data and behavior of 55 college students as participants. The behavior is tracked after providing advance information on parking …

Evaluation Of Coordinated Ramp Metering (Crm) Implemented By Caltrans, Amir Molan, Nivedha Murugesan, Alireza Shams, Cristina Tortora, Faridur Rahman, Jacky Loh, Anurag Pande

Mineta Transportation Institute

Coordinated ramp metering (CRM) is a critical component of smart freeway corridors that rely on real-time traffic data from ramps and freeway mainline to improve decision-making by the motorists and Traffic Management Center (TMC) personnel. CRM uses an algorithm that considers real-time traffic volumes on freeway mainline and ramps and then adjusts the metering rates on the ramps accordingly for optimal flow along the entire corridor. Improving capacity through smart corridors is less costly and easier to deploy than freeway widening due to high costs associated with right-of-way acquisition and construction. Nevertheless, conversion to smart corridors still represents a sizable …

Securing The Emerging Technologies Of Autonomous And Connected Vehicles, Shahab Tayeb, Matin Pirouz

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) aims to establish a network of autonomous and connected vehicles that communicate with one another through facilitation led by road-side units (RSUs) and a central trust authority (TA). Messages must be efficiently and securely disseminated to conserve resources and preserve network security. Currently, research in this area lacks consensus about security schemes and methods of disseminating messages. Furthermore, a current deficiency of information regarding resource optimization prevents further efficient development of this network. This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to these issues by merging both cybersecurity and data science to optimize and secure the network. …

Crime And Harassment On Public Transportation: A Survey Of Sjsu Students Set In International Context, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Cristina Tortora, Yajing Hu

Mineta Transportation Institute

Communities around the world are gradually becoming aware that transit riders, and especially women, are often victims of a wide range of offenses of a sexual nature that happen on buses and trains, and at bus stops and train stations. Better understanding the extent and nature of sexual harassment on transit is a critical issue for transit operators and society at large. If fear of sexual crime limits if and how people ride transit, the result is reduced mobility for certain segments of the population, as well as lost ridership for transit agencies.

For this study, we surveyed 891 students …

Developing A Computer Vision-Based Decision Support System For Intersection Safety Monitoring And Assessment Of Vulnerable Road Users, Arash Jahangiri, Anagha Katthe, Aryan Sohrabi, Xiaobai Liu, Shashank Pulagam, Vahid Balali, Sahar Ghanipoor Machiani

Mineta Transportation Institute

Vision-based trajectory analysis of road users enables identification of near-crash situations and proactive safety monitoring. The two most widely used sur-rogate safety measures (SSMs), time-to-collision (TTC) and post-encroachment time (PET)—and a recent variant form of TTC, relative time-to-collision (RTTC)—were investigated using real-world video data collected at ten signalized intersections in the city of San Diego, California. The performance of these SSMs was compared for the purpose of evaluating pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Prediction of potential trajectory intersection points was performed to calculate TTC for every interacting object, and the average of TTC for every two objects in critical situations was …

A New Materials And Design Approach For Roads, Bridges, Pavement, And Concrete, Alan Fuchs, Tathagata Acharya, Luis Cabrales, Jesse Bergkamp, Nyakundi Michieka

Mineta Transportation Institute

Increased understanding of demand for transport energy and how to improve road pavement materials would enable decision makers to make environmental, financial, and other positive changes in future planning and design of roads, bridges, and other important transportation structures. This research comprises three studies focused on pavement materials and a fourth study that examines energy demand within the road transportation sector. These studies are as follows:

1. A techno-economic study of ground tire rubber as an asphalt modifier;

2. A computational fluid dynamics analysis comparing the urban heat island effect of two different pavement materials – asphalt and Portland Cement …

The Potential For Autonomous Vehicle Technologies To Address Barriers To Driving For Individuals With Autism, Caroline Rodier

Mineta Transportation Institute

Individuals with autism represent a sizeable share of the U.S. population (almost 2%), and nearly half of those with autism have average to high levels of intelligence. However, available research shows that adults with autism have a much more difficult time becoming employed and living independently compared to both typically developing adults and adults with disabilities. This study reviews the available literature on the magnitude of challenges to driving and accessing essential opportunities for adults with autism, and the potential of autonomous vehicles to address those challenges. This study is unique in that it identifies the specific driving challenges and …

A Smart Growth & Equity Framework And Tool For Measuring, Understanding, And Realizing Transportation Land Use Coordination For Sustainability, Livability, And Equity, Bruce Appleyard, Chris Allen, Jonathan Stanton

Mineta Transportation Institute

The coordination and integration of transportation and land use (also known as “smart growth”) has been a long-standing goal for planning and engineering professionals, but to this day remains an elusive concept to realize. As this approach is a widely recognized as key to achieving sustainable, livable, and equitable (SLE) outcomes for individuals and society, a key aim of this report is to instill the coordination of transportation and land use into practice by the collection of key actors and agents (MPOs, DOTs, and local land use authorities, etc.) through new measurement and policy guidance frameworks and tools. A fundamental …

Impact Of Smart Phones’ Interaction Modality On Driving Performance For Conventional And Autonomous Vehicles, Francesca M. Favarò

Mineta Transportation Institute

Distracted driving related to cell phone usage ranks among the top three causes of fatal crashes on the road. Although forty-eight of 50 U.S. states allow the use of personal devices if operated hands-free and secured in the vehicle, scientific studies have yet to quantify the safety improvement presumed to be introduced by voice-to-text interactions. Thus, this study investigated how different modes of interaction of drivers with a smart phone (i.e., manual texting vs. vocal input) affect drivers’ distraction and performance in both conventional and semi-autonomous vehicles. The study was executed in a full-car integrated simulator and tested a population …

The Potential For Using Loyalty Rewards And Incentives Programs To Encourage Transit Ridership And Regional Transportation And Land Use Integration, Christopher E. Ferrell

Mineta Transportation Institute

Transit smart cards can be used as a tool for increasing transit ridership, increasing retail sales in transit-oriented developments (TODs) and eventually, increasing opportunities for retail development in TODs. Instead of providing separate loyalty rewards for each store, or chain of stores, such cards would provide loyalty rewards—in several possible forms, including free transit ride credits, cash rewards, retail purchase discounts, sweepstakes rewards—to all transit riders who patronize TOD retail businesses. Additional rewards could also be given to transit riders who live, work, and shop in TODs, and even to riders who take transit for specific shopping trips in TODs. …

Moving From Walkability? Evaluation Traditional And Merging Data Sources For Evaluating Changes In Campus-Generated Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Troy Kawahara, Bo Liu, Anurag Pande, Calvin Thigpen, Carole Turley Voulgaris

Mineta Transportation Institute

Universities are increasingly committing to reduce campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions, whether voluntarily or in response to a legal mandate. As an initial step to keeping these commitments, universities need an accounting of baseline greenhouse gas emissions levels and means of monitoring changes in campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions over time. Commute-generated greenhouse gas emissions from travel to and from campus by students and employees are among the most difficult to quantify. This report examines some of the challenges associated with estimating campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions and evaluates ways to address those challenges. The purpose of this study is to identify changes …

A Framework For Integrating Transportation Into Smart Cities, Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, Mark K. Dowd, Richard Davis

Mineta Transportation Institute

In recent years, economic, environmental, and political forces have quickly given rise to “Smart Cities” -- an array of strategies that can transform transportation in cities. Using a multi-method approach to research and develop a framework for smart cities, this study provides a framework that can be employed to:

1. Understand what a smart city is and how to replicate smart city successes;
2. The role of pilot projects, metrics, and evaluations to test, implement, and replicate strategies; and
3. Understand the role of shared micromobility, big data, and other key issues impacting communities.

This research provides recommendations for policy and professional practice …

Predicting Acceptable Wait Times For Patrons At Transit Bus Stops By Time Of Day, Stephen Arhin

Mineta Transportation Institute

The time spent waiting by bus patrons at bus stops is a primary measure for assessing the reliability of transit services. Uncertainty associated with waiting affects bus patrons’ perception of quality of the service provided. Consequently, this study aimed to determine patrons’ maximum and minimum acceptable wait times at bus stops in Washington, DC and to develop prediction models to provide decision-makers with additional tools for improving patronage.

The data used in this study was obtained by surveying 3,388 bus patrons at 71 selected bus stops in Washington, D.C. over an eight-month period. Data obtained from patrons included their ethnicity, …

How Effective Are Toll Roads In Improving Operational Performance?, Sonu Mathew, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute

The main focus of this research is to develop a systematic analytical framework and evaluate the effect of a toll road on region’s traffic using travel time and travel time reliability measures. The travel time data for the Triangle Expressway in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States was employed for the assessment process. The spatial and temporal variations in the travel time distributions on the toll road, parallel alternate route, and near-vicinity cross-streets were analyzed using various travel time reliability measures. The results indicate that the Triangle Expressway showed a positive trend in reliability over the years of its operation. The …

Analysis Of Disengagements In Semi-Autonomous Vehicles: Drivers’ Takeover Performance And Operational Implications, Francesca M. Favaro, Sky Eurich, Syeda Rizvi, Shivangi Agarwal, Sumaid Mahmood, Nazanin Nader

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report analyzes the reactions of human drivers placed in simulated Autonomous Technology disengagement scenarios. The study was executed in a human-in-the-loop setting, within a high-fidelity integrated car simulator capable of handling both manual and autonomous driving. A population of 40 individuals was tested, with metrics for control takeover quantification given by: i) response times (considering inputs of steering, throttle, and braking); ii) vehicle drift from the lane centerline after takeover as well as overall (integral) drift over an S-turn curve compared to a baseline obtained in manual driving; and iii) accuracy metrics to quantify human factors associated with the …