What's New in Data and Information Technology

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 138: Public Transit Rider Origin–Destination Survey Methods and Technologies captures the state of the practice among agencies of different sizes, geographic locations, and modes and evaluates the opportunities for and challenges of conducting surveys in an era of emerging technologies. The report presents the reality and complexity of...

The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota has released a report that develops a merge assist system using vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies. The goal of this report is to accurately acquire vehicle positioning information at a freeway entrance ramp in order to make merging safer.

PIARC has released a report that investigates low-cost information technology services (ITS) for low- and middle-income countries to increase their urban mobility. This report seeks to clarify service areas, stakeholders, business models and costs, system architecture, quality of service, and other aspects of low-cost ITS. The report is available for no fee after logging onto the site.

TRB is cosponsoring the International Conference on Advances in Materials and Pavement Performance Prediction (AM3P) on May 27-29, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. This conference provides an international forum for researchers and practitioners involved in computational modeling, experimental characterization, and field testing for the prediction of the short and long-term performance of various ty...

The Virginia Department of Transportation has released a report that identifies how travel demand models may be modified to incorporate the potential impacts of driverless vehicles (DVs). The DVs described in this report are presumed to be completely autonomous.

TRB released a recording in April 2019 that discusses The National Performance Measure Research Data Set (NPMRDS). The NPMRDS is an offline probe-based travel time data archival that is used for various before and after studies involving travel time changes, and has been incorporated in the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). This webinar describes a case study approach to examine pot...

The International Council on Clean Transportation has released a report that outlines the application of existing vehicle simulation tools to streamline technology verification and accelerate technology uptake in green freight programs. This tool may be used by fleet or green freight program managers to estimate the potential fuel savings of truck technologies without extensive real-world testing.

TRB is cosponsoring the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2019 Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference on July 21-24, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference will bring together researchers, designers, project and construction managers, and contractors from around the world to discuss airfield and highway pavements. It will consider all aspects of development, from planning through...

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation has released the latest edition of its newsletter that highlights recent accomplishments and products from university transportation centers (UTCs). This edition features the University of Maryland. It describes a smartphone app that uses personalized incentives to nudge commuter behavior ...

The Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has released a report that outlines the study methodology, data collection, data reduction, and data analysis of a specific adaptive signal control technology (ASCT) used in Illinois. Field evaluation of ASCT is important in understanding the system’s contribution to traffic safety and operational performan...

TRB is cosponsoring the World Transport Convention on June 13-16, 2019 in Beijing, China. This conference provides an international platform to share ideas about transportation infrastructure connectivity. The conference will include technical sessions and workshops, plenary sessions, transportation expositions, and design competitions.

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) has released a request for proposals to provide guidance for collecting data at airports with respect to the applicable laws, including federal, state, and international, the compliance requirements, and the consequences of non-compliance. Proposals are due May 28, 2019.

TRB is sponsoring the 2nd International Conference in North America on Nanotechnology in Cement and Concrete on May 20-22, 2020, in Irvine, California. The conference is designed to explore the science and engineering of nanotechnology in modifying and monitoring the behavior and performance of cement and concrete at the nanoscale. Nanomodification of concrete is potentially capable of dramatic...

The Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has released a report that examines the adequacy of available Illinois weigh-in-motion data. This report also develops refined live-load factors for Illinois load and resistance factored rating practice based on recorded truck loads in Illinois.

TRB will conduct a webinar on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET that features research from the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 191 : A Primer to Prepare for the Connected Airport and the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things (IoT), as defined by the International Telecommunications Union, is “a global infrastructure for the information society...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released a request for proposals to develop tools, methods, and guidance for improving data integration, sharing, and management practices to enable transportation agencies and private-sector and public-sector stakeholders to make better planning and operations decisions. Proposals are due May 16, 2019.

TRB is shifting the dates of its 2021 Annual Meeting to January 24 to 28, 2021. This is one week earlier than dates previously announced. Please mark your calendar to attend the 2021 TRB Annual Meeting, from January 24 to 28, 2021. Meanwhile, the dates for the upcoming 2020 TRB Annual Meeting, January 12 to 16, 2020, remain unchanged.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released the latest issue of its Research and Technology (R&T) Now news update. Each issue reports on research, technology, and development activities taking place within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This edition features information about: Foundation reuse for highway bridges New data collection tools In situ scour testing device...

The U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center has released a report that summarizes the results of a conference about artificial intelligence and predictive analytics in transportation. Experts at the conference discussed how new technologies may be applied throughout the transportation enterprise, such as troves of data from mapping applications that may improve traffic modeling and save ...

Austroads has released a report that documents a pilot project to improve the measurement and reporting of serious injury crashes. The goal of this report is to provide a proof of concept for a national approach to supply routine data on non-fatal serious road injuries. The report is available for no fee after logging onto the site.

The American Road & Transportation Builders' Association (ARTBA) is sponsoring a webinar entitled The Future of the Interstate System: A Blueprint for Action on Thursday, March 28, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET. The webinar will discuss the TRB report Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future . The speaker will highlight the economic f...

A featured article in the January-February 2019 issue of the TR News explores emerging trends, applied research, research needs, and innovative solutions to challenges across all transportation modes and functions. State departments of transportation are deploying new technologies, streamlined and innovative processes, research-driven methods, and holistic systems approaches to further the goal...

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released a report that outlines responses to a survey in which respondents aged 16 years or older were asked to report all of the driving that they did over a 24-hour period. The goal of the survey is to determine people’s exposure to risk of motor vehicle crashes.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that outlines the design and technical basis of the Queue and User Cost Evaluation of Work Zones (QUEWZ) user cost estimation software tool. QUEWZ is a program designed for evaluation of freeway work zones but can be used for other highway types.

The Governors’ Highway Safety Association has released a report that identifies state and national trends in pedestrian fatalities in 2018. This report also discusses strategies to reduce pedestrian and motor vehicle crashes through a combination of design, education, and enforcement recommendations.

The TRB community extends condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Joseph Boardman who served as Chair of the TRB Executive Committee in 2005. Mr. Boardman passed away on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the age of 70.  “Joe was a tireless advocate for improved transportation, and particularly for rail as an efficient and effective way to move both people and freight,” said Neil Pedersen, T...

The Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has released a report that examines the adequacy of available Illinois weigh-in-motion data. It also seeks to develop refined live-load factors and resistance factored rating practices in Illinois.

The January-February edition of the TR News explores emerging trends, research needs, and related events that discuss how technology may be harnessed to create more resilient transportation systems. Articles also focus on electrification, obesity solutions, and infectious diseases in the built environment.   The TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative an...

The International Transport Forum has released a report that examines how information and communication technology (ICT) has changed mass transit in Seoul, Korea. Specifically, this report identifies how Wi-Fi availability on buses and metros affects people’s choices of modes of transportation.

The University of Texas at Austin has released a report that discusses impacts that connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) may have on the transportation community. This report includes legal and policy issues, current public opinions of CAVs, models for estimating safety and traffic operations benefits, discussions of current technology options, and case studies evaluating ridesharing and oth...