The November-December 2020 issue of TR News —with a cover feature on the development of a Recycled Material Web Map—is available in hard copy and digital copy for subscribers. For those who are not subscribers, the table of contents is available. Other feature articles in the issue include "Living with Transformational Technologies and Other Surprises," "Asphalt Recycling: History of Recycled Mate...

If combined with public transit and increased in scale, shared modes of transportation, such as ride-hailing, scooter sharing and bike sharing, can enhance mobility, equity, and sustainability in metropolitan areas. Cities, transit agencies, and shared mobility providers should collaborate in goal-setting, experimentation, testing, and implementation. These are among the findings in TRB Special Re...

The September–October 2020 issue of TRB's magazine is now available in full online. Themed “Embracing the Future,” the issue celebrates TRB’s centennial with articles forecasting the future of transportation. Authors present outlooks that are multimodal, creative, diverse, inclusive, and thought-provoking, offering a pause point for transportation researchers, policy makers, and practitioners as t...

The year 2020’s raging coronavirus pandemic and reckoning with long-standing racial injustice led to widespread disruption and suffering, social unrest, and renewed calls for an accounting of our fragmented public health system and troubled history of racial inequity. The crises of 2020 transcend transportation yet also raise fundamental questions for it along with other sectors of our society and...

The 2020 Annual Report summarizes TRB’s accomplishments in each of its major program areas and how TRB has served the nation and the global transportation professional community throughout 2020. TRB provides leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation...

Joint development is real estate development that occurs on transit agency property or through some other type of development transaction to which the transit agency is a party. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's pre-publication draft of TCRP Research Report 224: Guide to Joint Development for Public Transportation Agencies is designed to expand the successful use of joint development ...

Management of traffic signal systems is a critical function for many transportation agencies.  Thanks to advancements in technology, it is now possible to collect large amounts of data at signalized intersections, leading to the development of dozens of performance measures. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's  NCHRP Research Report 954: Performance-Based Management o...

In the airport industry, potential applications for blockchain include security and identification, flight data management, safety and maintenance, baggage and cargo tracking, regulatory compliance, and more. Promising blockchain applications specific to COVID-19 include passenger health verification and contact tracing, facilitating a contactless passenger experience, and tracking the movement of...

Commercial ground transportation at U.S. airports includes public transit, door-to-door shuttle van service, charter buses, limousines, rental cars, taxicabs, hotel courtesy shuttles, wheel chair services, and courier operators. Technological developments, such as transportation network companies, car-sharing operations, and driverless cars, have added more options and challenges for airport groun...

Scientists use artificial intelligence to forecast large-scale traffic patterns more accurately, reads the headline in a recent article by Tech Xplore , which cites an article published this summer in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record .

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a policy statement supporting the development of fully integrated transportation networks. The policy is to “incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycle facilities into transportation projects.” The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Synthesis 558: Availability and Use of Pedestrian Infrastructure Da...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued this pre-publication draft of NCHRP...

Providing connectivity to the local community or region served by a general aviation airport is essential for providing a complete service to airport users and capturing economic benefit whether large or small. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 111: Last Mile in General Aviation—Courtesy Vehicles and Other Forms of Ground Transportation compiles options, practices, and ...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has proven a formidable adversary worldwide, with tremendous impact on the United States. The transportation system is an essential element of our response to this pandemic but has also been significantly impacted across all modes, both passenger and goods movement. This environment is where research is needed most. TRB's Transportation Research Circular E-C267: Summary of T...

Understanding pandemics, their impacts to transportation, and potential effective response has become more important, not only for the response to COVID-19, but also if, as the World Health Organization warns, we are now “living in a time of viruses.” TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued this pre-publication draft of NCHRP...

Real-time transit data has been shown to have many benefits and is, in comparison with many other potential operational or capital improvements to bus or rail service, an affordable means of increasing ridership. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 93: An Open Platform for Transit Agencies to Improve the Quality of Their Real-Time Data deta...

The collection and sharing of data are essential in an airport’s risk management process. The data can allow the airport to benchmark against the industry, monitor performance, and proactively understand trends. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 222: Collecting and Sharing of Operations and Safety Data identifies data sources, best practices, and the challenges as...

Transportation Research Record (TRR) will be publishing a special, open-access issue featuring research relating to COVID-19 and transportation. In addition to papers submitted for TRBAM 2021 and recommended by TRB committees, we are also accepting additional submissions until October 31. We invite papers that address all aspects of pandemic-related effects on transportation, including: The COVID-...

The amount of data surrounding the application of emerging technologies is expanding, producing “big data” at magnitudes not previously seen. While a few agencies have found some success with individual projects, most are uncertain on how to handle this level of big data at an organizational level. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 282: Framework for M...

The procedures detailed in the 6th Edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) estimate capacity and several operational measures, including those determining Level of Service, for freeway facilities as well as surface streets. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 290: Highway Capacity Manual Methodologies for Corridors Involving Freeways and Surface Str...

With the advent and increasing prevalence of driverless train operation, dispatch centers are becoming more central to reliable and safe transportation worldwide. Dispatchers are, however, highly susceptible to the detrimental effects of sleepiness and related impairment of work performance. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Rail Safety IDEA Final Report 40: Using...

This 2018 study published in TRB's journal, Transportation Research Record , examined the increasing penetration of online shopping on physical stores. "Accessibility or Innovation? Store Shopping Trips versus Online Shopping," by Kees Maat and Rob Konings of Delft University of Technology. is one of the most read TRR articles of the past 6 months. The study determined, as of 2017, that online sho...

Structural supports of signs, luminaires, and traffic signals are an integral part of the transportation system. The promising results in this analysis present an opportunity to address the longstanding issue of fatigue-related failures in traffic signal structures. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Development of a Novel Aerodynamic Solution to Mitigate L...

This report summarizes an event focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and its impact on the operational and economic recovery of airports. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's Conference Proceedings on the Web 27: Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public includes presentations from airport industry leaders who discussed current and on...

This report summarizes an event focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and its impact on the operational and economic recovery of airports. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's Conference Proceedings on the Web 27: Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public includes presentations from airport industry leaders who discussed current and on...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted transportation agencies across the U.S. in a variety of ways. On July 15, 2020, TRB's Transportation Asset Management Committee hosted a webinar that featured executives and CEOs from state, regional, and transit agencies. Transportation Research Circular E-C266: Transportation Asset Management in a COVID-19 World captures the details of the discussion on how the...

Most laws, ordinances, and rules concerning truck routes are established for through trucks; however, trucks with local origins or destinations may use other roads and streets to travel to and from the established truck routes. The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 943: Design and Access Management Guidelines for Truck Routes: Planning and Design Guide helps...

Gating allows guardrails to form a plastic hinge, and a portion of that guardrail will swing open, like a gate, and allow the vehicle to pass behind. Before now, gating was a feature of all guardrail terminals. The TRB Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Non-Gating Guardrail Terminal is the final report for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program's IDEA Pr...

TRB hosted the Transportation Resilience 2019: 2nd International Conference on Transportation Resilience to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather Events (TR2019) at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C., November 13–15, 2019. The primary purpose of TR2019 program was to present advancements made in transportation systems resilience to natural hazards, climate change, and impa...

State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and other government agencies recognize the value of connected vehicle (CV) technologies in helping achieve the strategic objectives of saving lives and relieving congestion. Several agencies are currently planning and preparing for a future where CV technologies could become a part of their routine business operations. A core consideration in any such pl...