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Public Transportation Research at TRB

The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. This page highlights recently released TRB reports, meeting announcements, requests for proposals, and other announcements related to public transportation. In addition, it includes links to selected public transportation research-related activities taking place at the federal and state levels, and within the academic and international transportation communities. Finally, this page also highlights and provides links to TRB public transportation-related programs and activities, which are the source of most of TRB’s marine transportation-related research products.

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TRB Public Transportation-Related Programs and Activities

Developing Partnerships between Transportation Agencies and the Disability and Underrepresented CommunitiesDeveloping Partnerships between Transportation Agencies and the Disability and Underrepresented Communities
May 17, 2013
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Results Digest 107: Developing Partnerships between Transportation Agencies and the Disability and Underrepresented Communities includes best practices and outreach strategies and suggestions that can be used by transit personnel to develop and maintain partnerships with the disability and underrepresented communities. The guide include...
2014 TRB 93rd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers2014 TRB 93rd Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers
May 15, 2013
TRB standing committees have issued  calls for papers for the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2014, 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...
50th Anniversary for the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 50th Anniversary for the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
May 15, 2013
The 2013 series marks the 50th year of TRB’s peer-reviewed journal, which debuted as the Highway Research Record in 1963; became the Transportation Research Record in 1974, with Number 480; and added the subtitle, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, in 2000, with Number 1653. In all, TRB has published more than 25,000 papers in volumes of the TRR Journal and continues to build on its ...
RFP: IDEA Program Announcement 2013: Funding Proposals Now Being Accepted RFP: IDEA Program Announcement 2013: Funding Proposals Now Being Accepted
May 15, 2013
TRB’s Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) annual program announcement solicits funding proposals for the upcoming review cycles.  The announcement explains the IDEA programs, describes the types of eligible projects and their funding structures, suggests general areas for which IDEA proposals can be submitted, and provides guidelines and forms for submitting proposals. NCHRP ...
RFI: TCRP FY 2014 Research Problem Statements Sought
May 15, 2013
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program has issued a request for problem statements identifying research needed for TCRP’s FY 2014 program. Research problem statements for the TCRP FY 2014 program are due June 15, 2013. These submittals form the basis for selection of the annual TCRP research program. The TCRP undertakes applied research and technical activities focusing on the needs of tran...
A Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency EvacuationA Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency Evacuation
May 14, 2013
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 740: A Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency Evacuation focuses on the transportation aspects of evacuation, particularly large-scale, multijurisdictional evacuation. The guidance, strategies, and tools in NCHRP Report 740 are based on an all-hazards approach that has applicability to a wide range of “notice” and “no-no...
Final Research Report: A Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency EvacuationFinal Research Report: A Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency Evacuation
May 14, 2013
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 196: Final Research Report: A Transportation Guide for All-Hazards Emergency Evacuation documents the development of the  NCHRP Report 740 that focuses on the transportation aspects of evacuation--particularly large-scale, multijurisdictional evacuation.
Analyzing the Effects of Transit Network Change in a Decentralized, Small-to-Mid-Sized U.S. Metropolitan Area on Agency Performance and Riders: A Case Study of Tallahassee, Florida
May 13, 2013
The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University has released a report that analyzes Tallahassee, Florida’s restructuring of its bus network from a radial system to a grid system.
Transit Station and Stop Adoption ProgramsTransit Station and Stop Adoption Programs
May 1, 2013
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 103: Transit Station and Stop Adoption Programs explores transit agency programs in which local organizations, individuals, or other partners “adopt” a transit station or stop and receive recognition or incentives in exchange for, periodically, performing duties such as removing litter, maintaining vegetation, or reporting suspicious a...
Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication BarriersUsing Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers
April 29, 2013
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Web-Only Document 59: Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers explores whether pictograms–picture-based communication tools that use illustrations with few or no words–can be effective in communicating emergency information and behavioral modification to people with communication challenges&n...

Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
TCRP is an applied, contract research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems facing transit agencies.
Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems
TRB's Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Problems searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) report series, Synthesis of Transit Practice.
Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program
TRB's Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate new and unproven concepts or to evaluate novel applications of technologies that have been tried, tested or used for transit systems practice.
Technical Activities Standing Committees
TRB's Technical Activities Division provides a forum for transportation professionals in all modes and functions to identify research needs and to share information on research and issues of interest. The Division's staff of specialists in each mode and discipline work with a network of volunteers to carry out activities on behalf of TRB sponsors and the transportation community, including the TRB Annual Meeting, conferences and workshops, publications, visits to each state, and responses to inquiries. This network includes members and friends of over 200 standing committees, supplemented by designated TRB representatives in each state, over 150 universities, and 35 transit agencies.
Research in Progress in this Subject Area
TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database now contains more than 11,900 current or recently completed transportation research projects. Most of the RiP records are projects funded by federal and state departments of transportation. University transportation research is also included. The RiP Database also serves as a clearinghouse of University Transportation Centers ongoing research.
Research Needs in this Subject Area
An important function of TRB is to stimulate research that addresses concerns, issues, or problems facing the transportation community. In support of this function, TRB Technical Activities standing committees identify, develop, and disseminate research need statements (RNS) for use by practitioners, researchers, and others.
Research Completed in this Subject Area
TRB's TRID is integrated database that combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide.