What's New in Public Transportation

Since 2009, when NCHRP's last Security 101 report was released, there have been significant advances in transportation security approaches, including new strategies, programs, and ways of doing business that have increased the security of transportation systems as well as ensured their resiliency. Hazards and threats to the system have also continued to evolve since 2009. While the inciden...

More than 6,400 papers have been submitted to be considered by TRB for acceptance as part of the 2020 TRB 99th Annual Meeting  program. This amount is several hundred more than in any previous year. The 2020 TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C., covers all transportation modes, with more than 13,000 transportation professionals from around the world expected to...

The full version of the March-April 2019 TR News is available for download.  TRB's policy is to release the full version of a TR News four months after its release in print format. The March-April 2019 edition of the TR News explores TRB Special Report 329, Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System  by examining the challenges facing interstate highways, includ...

Transit marketing professionals are invited to a TRB webinar on Tuesday, August 27, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET. The webinar features research from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)’s Project 20-65 Task 73 : Best Practices And Marketing To Increase Rural Transit Ridership And Investment. The webinar will explore practices currently being used in transit agencies and...

TRB is hosting the Transit Safety and Security Peer Conference from November 16-18, 2020 in Washington, D.C. The goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for transit agencies to present research, demonstration outcomes, and associated lessons learned related to transit safety and security policy. The conference will also allow agencies to discuss procedure modifications, technology d...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to identify and address legal issues related to resilience planning at the federal, state, and local levels. Proposals are due October 10, 2019.

Medical literature has identified transportation as a factor in missed and shortened dialysis treatments, which leads to negative health outcomes. These adverse outcomes include, among others, increased hospitalizations because patients do not receive their scheduled treatments. For public transportation agencies, dialysis transportation has become a critical concern as increasing numbers of in...

TRB officially turns 100 on November 11, 2020. To help celebrate, TRB is asking you to “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story.” The TRB “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story centennial activity is designed to allow as many of you (TRB’s volunteers and friends) as possible to participate in the TRB Centennial Celebration through the submission of your stories. The “Tell Us ‘Our” Story” Centennial activity consists of a series of ...

TRB turns 100 on November 11, 2020. You are invited to join your colleagues listed below who have contributed to the TRB Century Club to support activities that will mark the anniversary; promote the value of transportation research; and celebrate the achievements of TRB’s volunteers, sponsors, affiliates, and staff. Contributions made before September 30, 2019, will be recognized in TRB's 100 ...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop a common, practical approach to storing, accessing, and managing fixed-route transit intelligent transportation system data. Proposals are due September 26, 2019.

The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) is soliciting ideas on candidate topics for the FY 2019 Legal Studies Program. The TCRP Legal Studies Program reports on legal issues associated with transit and intermodal law. Each document is intended to provide transit attorneys with authoritative, well-researched, specific information that is limited in scope. The studies focus on legal issue...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to produce a legal research digest that provides potential remedies available to the sponsor and contractors who experience increased costs due to delays and illustrate how those damages are measured. Proposals are due October 2, 2019.

TRB turns 100 on November 11, 2020. Your organization is invited to join the entities listed below that have contributed to the TRB Century Patron program to support activities that will mark the anniversary; promote the value of transportation research; and celebrate the achievements of TRB’s volunteers, sponsors, affiliates, and staff. Contributions made before September 30, 2019, will be rec...

Titles, dates, times, and brief descriptions are now available for the 100+ specialty workshops at the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Annual Meeting registration is required for all workshop attendees. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend. Meeting registration and hotel reservations will be available through the TRB Registration and Housing Bureau in earl...

Factors affecting rail transit project costs are examined in a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. This report identifies stakeholders’ views on approaches sponsors have used to manage costs and assesses the extent to which the Federal Transit Administration’s cost estimating information for sponsors aligns with recommended practices.

Act now to secure your exhibit space at the 2020 TRB Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. All indications are that attendance at the meeting will be the largest ever. Don't miss this opportunity to demonstrate your organization's support for transportation research and innovation, and to showcase your products and services to more than 13,000 transportation professionals. So...

TRB is hosting a committee meeting for the Mobility Management Study on August 14, 2019. Register in advance to join the meeting remotely from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Central. The morning session will discuss the American Public Transportation Association 2019 International Study Mission, titled “Integrated Mobility: Being Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Ready,” which visited Vienna, Austria; Hamburg,...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to identify SSI and PCII regulations and requirements relevant to transit agencies, and produce a report that includes common industry understandings or questions regarding the designation of potential protected information. Proposals are due September 26, 2019.

Practitioners from transit agencies are invited to a TRB webinar on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM ET. The webinar featured research from the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)’s Research Report 205 : Social and Economic Sustainability Performance Measures for Public Transportation. This webinar provided an overview of the report along with the American Public Transpo...

An open-source toolbox for public transit system planning is described in Social-Transportation Analytic Toolbox (STAT) for Transit Networks , a report from Portland State University and the University of Utah. This toolbox was developed to integrate social media and general transit feed specification data to enhance the performance of public transit systems. The report is available for no fee ...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to produce a legal research digest that provides guidance to stakeholders on the legal issues and decisions that need to be addressed when considering or negotiating multijurisdictional agreements relating to funding and service. Proposals are due September 17, 2019.

A hearing about the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)’s implementation of the Capital Investment Grant Program took place on July 16, 2019. The FTA and metropolitan planning organizations provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. Witness statements and a webcast of the hearing are available onl...

Effects of the Buy America Act, which places domestic content restrictions on federally funded transportation projects, are discussed in Effects of Buy America on Transportation Infrastructure and U.S. Manufacturing , a report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service. Buy America refers to regulations regarding using U.S.-made iron and steel and the domestic production and assembly of other...

The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University has released a report that examines the perceptions of older adults concerning barriers to the use of public transportation. The goal of this report is to identify programs and services that may address the transportation needs of older adults, and to suggest improvements to enable them to engage more fully in their community.

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report 208 explores the use and effectiveness of strategic communications in building public support for transit-priority projects. Transit priority projects are efforts to improve transit service, particularly in terms of speed and reliability, by prioritizing the movement of transit vehicles over automobiles. The report analyzes the c...

TRB conducted a webinar on Wednesday, July 17, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET that featured research from the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)’s Research Report 204 : Partnerships Between Transit Agencies and Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). This research is designed to help transit agencies that have decided to pursue partnerships with one or more TNCs. This report draws f...

Julie Dunbar, president of Dunbar Transportation Consulting LLC, is a featured volunteer in the TR News . Ms. Dunbar specializes in project management, technical analysis, model development and transit corridor analysis. Her current projects include evaluating travel forecasts for concepts and alternatives considered in the Los Angeles Metro Sepulveda Transit Corridor Study, forecasting ridersh...

On June 25, 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing to examine the adoption of technology by transportation stakeholders and the effects of technology on the surface transportation network. Witnesses discussed new technologies in the transportation sector, associated impacts, and the benefits and challenges to deploying such technologies. Witness ...

The Institute of Transport Studies at Monash University has released the latest issue of its bimonthly newsletter, which is designed to highlight recently added items to the World Transit Research database. This edition features research on planning, ridership, operations, infrastructure, and more.

The full issue of the January-February edition of the TR News is now available.  This issue 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 bimonthl...