Transit often fails to get the credit it deserves for reducing traffic and emissions. In most U.S. cities, transit’s mode share is in the single digits, so the direct effect of ridership seems small. And while it’s clear that even in places with low mode share transit plays a role in raising densities—and thereby reducing travel distances—this relationship has been hard to quantify; conventional demand models simply take land use as an input. Filling this gap is a report and tool from TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program.
Performance Measures
Revising the Vermont State Standards; M2D2: Multimodal Development and Delivery (Vermont Agency of Transportation and Smart Growth America, 2015)
This new report identifies specific modifications to the Vermont State Standards, recommends changes to other related VTrans guidelines and policies, and presents an implementation plan and schedule for conducting the revisions. The Vermont State Standards provide VTrans staff and other partners with direction in designing roadway transportation projects.
Analysis of Public Policies that Unintentionally Encourage and Subsidize Sprawl (Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, 2015)
Urban sprawl costs the American economy more than $1 trillion annually. These costs include greater spending on infrastructure, public service delivery and transportation. This report details planning and market distortions that foster sprawl, and smart growth policies that can help correct these distortions.
For the first time in a decade, U.S. per capita highway travel ticks up (SSTI, 2015)
After declining every year since 2004, vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) per capita in the U.S. ticked up by 0.9 percent in 2014 compared to 2013, according to figures released on Thursday, March 12, by FHWA. Accounting for the effect of population growth, total miles driven increased by 1.7 percent. Chris McCahill and Eric Sundquist examine the economic and social trends at work and analyze which factors are likely to most heavily influence VMT in the coming years.
Co-monitoring for Transit Management (Rudin Center for Transportation, 2014)
Transit agencies often do rider surveys and in-person checks of equipment and infrastructure. But by monitoring social media, agencies may get a faster report of problems and rider concerns. This report suggests methods for “co-monitoring,” the monitoring of field conditions through a combination of staff reports, data analysis and public observations.
The Innovative DOT: A Handbook of Policy and Practice (SSTI & SGA, 2015)
SSTI and Smart Growth America continue working with state departments of transportation and tracking innovative strategies for meeting 21st century transportation needs. The 2015 edition of The Innovative DOT builds upon its predecessor with updated content and fresh new ideas from a growing number of states.
Accessibility in Cities: Transport and Urban Form (Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, 2014)
This paper focuses on one central aspect of urban development: transport and urban form and how the two shape the provision of access to people, goods and services, and information in cities. The more efficient this access, the greater the economic benefits through economies of scale, agglomeration effects and networking advantages.
Public Bikesharing in North America During a Period of Rapid Expansion: Understanding Business Models, Industry Trends, and User Impacts (Mineta Transportation Institute, 2014)
This study evaluates public bikesharing in North America, reviewing the change in travel behavior exhibited by members of different programs in the context of their business models and operational environment. This research, featuers interviews with IT-based bikesharing organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as both annual members and casual users of the bikesharing systems.
Model Long Range Transportation Plans: A Guide for Incorporating Performance-Based Planning (Federal Highway Administration, 2014)
This Guidebook informs State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and regional transportation planning organizations, as well as their planning partners such as transit agencies, local governments, and Federal agencies, about effective practices for incorporating performance-based planning into the development of a long range transportation plan.
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.