This study reveals that Americans from regions across the country think about and use public transit in remarkably similar ways. The report is the first to compare rider and non-rider attitudes by age, income, education, family status and ethnicity, and to examine both cities and suburban areas across various regions of the U.S. The work documents the unmet need for reliable, quality transit. This preference is true across age groups and geographic regions.
Demand Management
Making Effective Fixed-Guideway Transit Investments: Indicators of Success (Transportation Research Board, 2014)
Fixed-guideway transit projects, such as urban rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) lines, are among the largest infrastructure investments that cities and metropolitan areas make. This research report includes a handbook and links to a spreadsheet tool to assist in predicting the likelihood of project success based on the conditions in a potential transit corridor and the metropolitan area. For this research, success measures were defined based on project ridership and the change in transit system usage. A set of indicators was identified that are strongly related to these measures based on an intensive data collection and statistical analysis process.
Performance Measures for Nonmotorized Transportation (SSTI, 2014)
At the May 2013 SSTI Community of Practice, participants requested guidance on performance measures for biking and walking projects. After surveying state DOTs, city and MPO staff, national organizations, and the research literature, this draft report outlines strategies used to assess the success of state and local projects.
Making Effective Fixed-Guideway Transit Investments: Indicators of Success (TRB, 2014)
With bus rapid transit and light rail lines among the most expensiveinfrastructure projects undertaken by cities, funding is not taken lightly by local officials. The Transit Cooperative Research Program undertook a study to identify conditions and characteristics typically associated with successful fixed-guideway transit system investments and provide guidance on evaluating proposed investments based on these conditions and characteristics.
Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S. (National Institute for Transportation and Communities, 2014)
This report presents finding from research evaluating U.S. protected bicycle lanes (cycle tracks) in terms of their use, perception, benefits, and impacts. It finds that separated bike lanes both encourage new cyclists to ride and make motorists feel that cyclists were safer and more predictable.
Advancing a Sustainable Highway System: Highlights of FHWA Sustainability Activities (FHWA and Volpe Center, 2014)
This report from FHWA illustrates how sustainability has been incorporated into a wide variety of FHWA programs, projects, policies, processes, and partnerships. It is intended to be used by a diverse audience of transportation agency professionals at the Federal, State, and local level as well as the general public.
Foot Traffic Ahead: Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America’s Largest Metros (George Washington School of Business, 2014)
This report, issued by the George Washington University Business School, examines the growing preference for walkable urbanism and what that means for infrastructure, economic development, housing, etc. The authors rank the 30 largest metros on walkable urbanism, identifying a future demand for tens of millions of square feet of walkable urban development. This demand would provide an economic foundation for the U.S. economy, similar to the building of drivable suburbs in the mid to late 20th century.
Characteristics of Premium Transit Services that Affect Choice of Mode (TRB, 2014)
This report provides a concise presentation of the research on key factors—beyond travel time and cost—that affect travelers’ choice of premium transit services. The report is supported by 10 technical appendices that present the detailed research results.
A Performance-Based Approach to Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Transportation Planning (FHWA, 2014)
This publication is a handbook designed to be a resource for State DOTs and MPOs engaged in performance-based planning and programming to integrate greenhouse gas performance measures into transportation decisionmaking. It discusses key approaches for integrating GHG emissions into a PBPP approach, considerations for selecting an appropriate GHG performance measure, and using GHG performance measures to support investment choices and to enhance decisionmaking.
Has motorization in the U.S. peaked? Part 5: Update through 2012 (Michael Sivak, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 2014)
Following on previous reports, this report updates driving and fule consumption trends through 2012. The author examines 11 trends in all, including less driving per capita, per licensed driver, per household, and total VMT. Fuel consumption has also declined, and is now lower than the rates in 1984. The main finding of the series of reports is that the respective rates all reached their maxima around 2004. The author argues that, because the onsets of the reductions in these rates preceded the onset of the recession (in 2008), the reductions in these rates likely reflect fundamental, non-economic changes in society. Therefore, these maxima have a reasonable chance of being long-term peaks as well. The present report provides a brief update on these measures through 2012.