What's New in Administration and Management

The National Transit Institute, in cooperation with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), will conduct a webinar on May 30, 2012, from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM that will highlight two active research projects that offer technical assistance to the transit industry in developing and improving transportation asset management and state of good repair practices. Participants must register in advance of...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has issued a request for proposals to identify and document the motivations, benefits, and barriers to public transportation coordination and integration that facilitates seamless travel, and to provide guidance on how to integrate and coordinate delivery of a public transportation system in a multi-service region. Proposals are due July 20, 2012.

The National Transit Institute, in cooperation with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), will conduct a webinar on May 16, 2012, from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM that will highlight practices and potential next steps to improve asset management and state of good repair, as discussed during the 9th National Conference on Transportation Asset Management.  Participants must register in advance of t...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 429: Geotechnical Information Practices in Design-Build Projects addresses how states use geotechnical information in solicitation documents and contracts for design-build highway projects. The report examines current practices regarding the allocation of geotechnical risk and the level of geotechnical information provided wi...

TRB will conduct a webinar on June 20, 2012, from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. ET that will explore efforts and techniques to implement asset management practices within a transportation organization. Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) will be provided to attendees who register a...

The UK's Transport Research Laboratory has released a report that provides an overview of research that was conducted to explore the potential for social networking sites to encourage changes in travel behaviors. The report may be downloaded for free after registering on the website.

The Council of State Governments has released a brief that highlights the experience of four panels in Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington that were established to develop recommendations on ways to fund transportation within their states. The brief addresses the panels’ processes, findings, and how their funding recommendations have fared politically.

The U.S. Federal Transit Administration has released a report that summarizes the results of three peer-to-peer exchanges that were designed to explore the challenges related to promoting bus rapid transit projects and ways to address those challenges.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 424: Engineering Economic Analysis Practices for Highway Investment explores how U.S. transportation agencies have applied engineering economics--benefit–cost analyses and similar procedures--to decisions on highway investments.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program is accepting applications for its Graduate Research Award Program on Public-Sector Aviation Issues for the 2012/2013 academic year. The program, sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, is designed to encourage applied research on airport and related aviation system issues and to foster the next generation of aviation community leaders.&n...

The spotlight theme for the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting, January 13-17, 2013, in Washington, D.C., is Deploying Transportation Research—Doing Things Smarter, Better, Faster. These uncertain times are also exciting times for the transportation community, which looks to build on its successes as never before. Spotlight sessions, workshops, and discussions at the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting will highlight...

The Reason Foundation has released an annual report that explores global and American-led efforts to finance surface transportation projects through private funding.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the first volume of a report that explores a strategic plan for concrete pavement research and technology transfer. The report includes 12 research tracks and is designed to help guide the investment of research dollars.  Volume I explores why the research plan is needed, how it was developed, and what the plan includes. This volume also...

TRB will conduct a webinar on June 12, 2012, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET that will explore National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 708: A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies . Participants must register in advance of the webinar, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees. A certificate for 1.5 Professional Development Hour...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 99: Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation explores the use of social media among transit agencies and documents successful practices in the United States and Canada. For the purposes of the report, social media are defined as a group of web-based applications that encourage users to interact with one another, such as blogs, Fac...

Maryland is seeking a Secretary of Transportation to provide executive direction for the Maryland Department of Transportation, the agency responsible for the state’s highway and transit systems; the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport; the Port of Baltimore; motor vehicle services; and the Maryland Transportation Authority. Additional information on responsibilities of...

TRB standing committees have issued  calls for papers for the TRB 92nd Annual Meeting, January 13-17, 2013, in Washington, D.C, and the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRR). While papers addressing any relevant aspect of transportation research will be considered, some committees are soliciting papers in specific subject areas to help potential...

State DOT chief executives must serve deftly and effectively in a number of roles. They are at once policymakers, the public faces of their agencies, and managers of organizations with thousands of employees. The short- and  long-term challenges that CEOs face are often quite different from those of  other transportation professionals.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has released a report that examines the level of competition for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contracts awarded by state departments of transportations (DOTs), evaluates the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) policies and guidance for awarding federal-aid contracts, and assesses FHWA’s oversight of state DOT cont...

The Reason Foundation has released an annual report that explores global and American-led efforts to privatize the airline industry.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released its quarterly report that is designed to characterize emerging traffic congestion and reliability trends at the national and city levels. The UCR utilizes archived traffic operations data gathered from state departments of transportation and a private traffic information company. The UCR is currently using data from 23 urban areas in the Unit...

TRB is cosponsoring the 2012 Equipment Management Workshop in June 24-28, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. The workshop will explore issues such as cost control, preventive maintenance, repairs, shop productivity, employee training and motivation, equipment replacement decisions, inventory control, alternative fuel vehicles, environmental safety, privatization, multiplexed electronics, and other relat...

The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General has released a report that examines the extent to which the U.S. Department of Transportation has an effective program for the development and oversight of department-wide enterprise architecture, and has established procedures for the assessment of enterprise architecture activities.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to explore issues related to the problem of just compensation in light of declining property values. Proposals are due May 21, 2012.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that explores the current and emerging uses of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies by state and local governments, the challenges these governments face in using ITS, and the extent to which the U.S. Department of Transportation’s efforts to promote and support ITS address these challenges and follow leading pract...

On April 18, 2012, the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security held a hearing to examine the use of tolls on U.S. bridges and tunnels; efforts made by entities that set rates to remain transparent and accountable about setting rates; and, equity among commuters, businesses, and ...

Roundabouts have seen unprecedented growth across the United States, from just a handful a decade ago to more than 2,000 and counting. National guidance had to keep pace with the needs of states and communities planning and implementing roundabouts, and NCHRP took a lead role.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has released a report that evaluates the extent to which the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) requirements and guidance informs high-speed and intercity passenger rail grant applicants about the information they must provide to FRA on project viability. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that explores the mobility, economic, and environmental benefits of the cancelled Hudson River Tunnel Project; the project cost estimates over time; and how documents prepared as part of the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts process addressed potential cost growth for the project.

TRB is sponsoring the Waste Management and Resource Efficiency in Transportation Summer Workshop on July 8-11, 2012, in Madison, Wisconsin. The workshop will explore the development and integration of proactive environmental management systems and sustainability concepts into transportation programs in the industry’s evolution from a solid and hazardous waste remediation and managemen...