Transportation Commons^™

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Transit Security Awareness Campaigns In The San Francisco Bay Area, Research Report 09-19, Nina Rohlich, Peter J. Haas, Frances Edwards

Mineta Transportation Institute

Public involvement in alerting officials of suspicious and potentially harmful activity is critical to the overall security of a transit system. As part of an effort to get passengers and the public involved, many transit agencies have security awareness campaigns. The objective of this research is to learn how transit agencies seek to make security awareness campaigns effective and explore how they measure the effectiveness of such campaigns, if at all. This research project includes data from case studies of five major agencies that provide transit service in the San Francisco Bay Area region. The case study data are comprised …

Facilitating Telecommuting As A Means Of Congestion Reduction, Mti Report 09-14, Nancy Da Silva, Meghna Virick

Mineta Transportation Institute

Walls, Safirova and Jiang (2007) note the paucity of studies that examine telecommuting among individuals across organizations and studies that compare telecommuters with non-telecommuters. This study responds to this call by gaining a deeper understanding of telecommuting patterns and adoption behavior through an examination of perceived obstacles and facilitators of telecommuting. The study involved data collection using survey methodology, focus groups, and archival data collection. Respondents include telecommuters and non-telecommuters as well as supervisors from a wide variety of organizations. The study also included collecting benchmarking data regarding telecommuting policies and practices of companies in Silicon Valley in an attempt …

Barriers To Using Fixed-Route Public Transit For Older Adults, Mti Report 09-16, Michael D. Peck

Mineta Transportation Institute

For older adults, unmet transportation needs are linked to reduced well-being (Cvitkovich and Wister 2001). Current research indicates that, as a society, we are ill-prepared to provide adequate transit for the growing increasing population of older adults (Millar, 2005). Although public transit is available for many older adults, actual and perceived barriers prohibit its use. Thus, the research presented here examines what do older persons perceive as barriers to using fixed-route public transit? Four focus groups were conducted with older adults in order to gain insights into what they perceive as barriers to use of fixed route transit. Findings from …

What Do Americans Think About Federal Transportation Tax Options? Results From A National Survey Mti Report 09-18, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report summarizes the results of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll that asked 1,545 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues. The eight specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new national sales tax. In addition, the survey collected standard socio-demographic data and some travel behavior data and asked a few attitudinal questions related to the quality of the transportation system and respondents´ priorities for government spending on transportation. These questions were used to assess support levels for the …

Policy Issues In U.S. Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: Lessons From Australia, Research Report 09-15, David Czerwinski, Richard Geddes

Mineta Transportation Institute

In this report, the authors examine Australia’s experience with transportation public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the lessons that experience holds for the use of PPPs in the United States. Australia now has decades of experience in PPP use in transportation, and has used the approach to deliver billions of dollars in project value. Although this report explores a range of issues, the authors focus on four policy issues that have been salient in the United States: (1) how the risks inherent in PPP contracts should be distributed across public and private sector partners; (2) when and how to use non-compete (or …

Interview With Stephanie Noll, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, 2010 (Audio), Stephanie Noll

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Stephanie Noll by Sean Cochran in NW Portland, Oregon on May 24th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Road Pricing, Anthony M. Rufolo

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Fuel taxes are an important source of funds for roads. However, increasing fuel efficiency and the potential for alternative fueled vehicles have raised questions about the long-term viability of this revenue source. Oregon conducted an experiment to evaluate the potential to replace fuel taxes with mileage fees. The findings from that experiment will be presented along with some discussion of current research on the cost associated with implementing different types of mileage fees.

Evaluation Of Safety Impact Of Access Management In Urban Areas, Xuecai Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The access provided by streets and highways to adjacent lands are managed by controlling the spacings between the access points including signals, driveways, and media openings on mid-block segments, and setting the limit on the corner clearances around intersections. There have been studies on evaluating the impact of access management techniques on safety and mobility in urban areas. Samples of mid-block segments and intersections can be collected from selected arterials. Because the mid-block segments or intersections in the same arterials share the same missing information, safety and mobility on them show unique features that should be taken into account when …

South Carolina Pole Related Crashes - A Qualitative And Quantitative Study, Sukumar Anekar

All Theses

South Carolina has its share of motor vehicle crashes. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2007, South Carolina was 4th in nation for rate of motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people. Within South Carolina, run off road fixed object crashes account for 48\% of fatal crashes whereas these types of crashes count for only 21\% of fatal crashes nationally. Utility poles are only second to trees in fixed objects struck but they are intentionally placed mad made obstructions. This makes utility poles one of the most serious problems alongside South Carolina roadways. Over 5\% of the …

Modeling Of On-Line Traffic Control And Management Network For Operational And Communication Performance Evaluation, Yan Zhou

All Dissertations

Communication systems are the backbone of every effective and reliable traffic control and management application. While traditional fiber optics and telephone communications have long been used in managing and controlling highway traffic, wireless communication technology shows great promise as an alternative solution in traffic management applications due to their suitability for deployment in rural areas, and their flexibility and cost-effectiveness for system expansion. However, the detailed characteristics of various wireless communication technologies and real performance in the field have not been systematically studied. To augment this existing knowledge so that traffic professionals may better utilize these technologies to improve traffic …

Statistical Modeling And Analysis Of Injury Severity Sustained By Occupants Of Passenger Vehicles Involved In Crashes With Large Trucks, Ahmad Koupaenejad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Crashes are the result of complex interactions between several factors representing driver, roadway, vehicle, and environmental characteristics. Understanding to what degree each factor contributes to the severity of a crash is not a simple task. The outcomes of crashes in the US have been an average of 42,000 deaths and 3 million injuries per year. To better understand the role of significant contributors to crashes, three sets of models using multinomial logit and one using ordered probit were calibrated. To calibrate these models, forty two independent predictor variables including driver/occupants characteristics, crash environment at the crash location, crash characteristics, and …

Tenth Annual Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Symposium, Mti Report S-09-06, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On March 23, 2010, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) continued its support of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program by conducting the Tenth National Garrett Morgan Symposium and Videoconference on Sustainable Transportation. The ongoing mission of this national videoconference is to stimulate the minds of young people, and to encourage them to pursue challenging academic programs including mathematics and science—an education course that will prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s challenging transportation careers. Participating school were Kemps Landing Magnet School, Virginia Beach, VA; Morada Middle School, Stockton, CA; Redland Middle School, Rockville, MD; Riverside …

City Design Lecture Series: Linking Transportation And Land Use Planning, Mark L. Gillem

TREC Final Reports

The objective of this multidisciplinary educational program was to host a lecture series that will inform area professionals, students, and the broader public about the need to consider transportation and land use strategies in concert that can jointly create more livable cities with enhanced safety, reduced congestion, greater mobility choices, and more housing variety. This lecture series meets the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium’s (OTREC) goal of encouraging “… multidisciplinary educational programs and experiential learning across disciplines in the transportation field.” The lecture series brought a variety of nationally known experts in the fields of transportation planning, urban design, …

Meeting The Challenges Of Urban Transportation, Mti Report-10-2969, Mti

Mineta Transportation Institute

This e-book is the edited proceedings of a SuperSession held during the American Society of Public Administrations (ASPA) 2010 conference, Invigorating Public Service for Change, which was held in San Jose, CA, on April 9-13. The Meeting the Challenges of Urban Transportation panel included Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) Executive Director Rod Diridon, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) CEO Steve Heminger, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group President and CEO Carl Guardino. The presentation was moderated by the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation and founder of MTI. Topics included a look at the MTCs regional transportation plans, planned expansion of …

Aviation & Maritime Homeland Security: A Comparative Case Study, Staphanie Aileen Webb

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business and Public Affairs at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Administration by Stephanie Aileen Webb on April 14, 2010.

Tls Newsletter Volume 3, Edition 4 April 2010, Unf Transportation And Logistics Society

Transportation & Logistics Society Newsletter

Inside this newsletter: Spring 2010 Graduate Survey. Editors' corrections and retractions. In the Know--TLS Tours. Important Spring Dates. Professional Spotlight on American Society of Transportation and Logistics. Get to Know Darline Bernheimer.

Developing Reverse Logistics Programs: A Resource Based View, Stephen E. Genchev, Timothy D. Landry, Patrica J. Daugherty, Anthony S. Roath

Journal of Transportation Management

Previous research proposes a six-process model for reverse logistics (RL) program design and execution. This manuscript advances RL related knowledge by incorporating the previous model into a broader theoretical framework, namely, the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm. The current research employs exploratory techniques to investigate the applicability of RBV and its main tenants within the RL context. Based on in-depth interviews with 16 executives from seven different companies, the relationships among resources. RL capabilities, and RL competencies are explored.

A Study Of Logistics Strategies In Small Versus Large U.S. Manufacturing Firms, John E. Spillan, Jonathan W. Kohn, Michael A. Mcginnis

Journal of Transportation Management

The research reported in this manuscript empirically compares the similarities and differences of logistics strategies for small and large manufacturing firms. The hypotheses focus on whether there are significant differences between logistics strategies of small and large manufacturing firms and whether logistics strategy outcomes differ. The findings indicate that there are many similarities but differences do exist. The results identify dimensions of logistics strategy and assess their impact on logistics coordination effectiveness, customer service commitment, and company/division competitive responsiveness.

Forward Positioning And Consolidation Of Strategic Inventories, Joseph B. Skipper, John E. Bell, William A. Cunningham Iii, Daniel D. Mattioda

Journal of Transportation Management

The forward positioning of strategic inventory in the supply chain has an impact on transportation times and is important for sensitive demand profiles. Consolidation of stocks creates pooling effects and minimizes costs. This study analyzes a current military case where forward consolidation of equipment is considered using optimization, and payback periods are calculated for the cost of consolidating inventory at one of six locations. Results indicate that forward positioning and consolidation reduces time and cost, and also creates savings in reverse logistics flows. The study has implications for geographically diverse supply chains such as humanitarian aid and emergency response operations.

Fuel Costs And Supply Chain Decisions, Cliff Welborn

Journal of Transportation Management

The affect of rising fuel costs on the individual consumer is well documented in current media. Consumers are paying more for their basic necessities. Fuel surcharge, transportation cost, and logistics have become house hold words. The rising cost of crude oil creates an increase in fuel cost, and this creates an increase in the cost to transport products from one location to another. Managers, who are responsible for acquiring products and delivering them to customers, are also feeling the impact of higher fuel prices. This article will outline three significant areas where fuel prices are affecting U.S. supply chain decisions. …