There is a growing interest in deploying autonomous vehicles for public transportation. In the U.S., transportation agencies are exploring the impacts of incorporating automation on safety or mobility, especially for low-speed automated vehicles (LSAV). The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 98: Safety Assessment of the Interaction Between the Autonomous Shuttle Bus and Vulnerable Road Users identifies potential safety issues regarding LSAV interacti...

Bus electrification is an effective way of mitigating carbon emissions in the wake of technological advancements. Electric transit bus systems (ETBS) are receiving increasing attention across the globe. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 96: Multi-stage Planning for Electrifying Transit Bus Systems with Multi-format Charging Facilities details a decision support tool that can be used by transit authorities when making electrification-related deci...

Innovative automated solutions could help increase transit ridership, improve transit safety, and increase transit revenue. The TRB Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Connected and Automated Parking Feasibility – A Pilot Study is the first pilot study in the United States to test the benefits transit agencies may obtain from deploying automated parking technology.

Train dispatchers could use Augmented Reality (AR) to view their current displays in 3D. Such an interface would allow dispatchers to use hand and head movements, along with voice commands, to manage the same things that they do currently on their multi-monitor displays, such as track diagrams, alarms, train and station information, and setting of train movements. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 92: Augmented Reality Dispatcher Interface summa...

Safety technologies and programs aimed at reducing or eliminating risky driving behaviors may prevent a large number of crashes. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 88: Evaluation of an Automatic, Individual Computer-Based Driver Education and Training Program analyzes a software program that uses onboard safety monitoring data to monitor driver behavior and automatically assign relevant, individualized online driver training as needed.

Advanced warning of brake problems can lead to benefits in increased transit safety and operating efficiencies. Transit safety will be improved through fewer accidents and injuries due to brake failures. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 94: Evaluation of Transit Vehicle Brake Inspection through Ultrasonic Emissions Analysis details a new approach for improving transit safety by analyzing ultrasonic sounds emitted by braking. Vehicle brakes emit...

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 details a prototype platform that makes General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Realtime validation tools readi...

Automatic passenger counters (APCs) provide passenger boarding and alighting information associated with time and location data. They are a standard tool used by many transit authorities to measure and report monthly ridership to the National Transportation Database, with resulting federal subsidies calculated solely based on the data they provide. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 84: Development of a Mass-Based Automated Passenger Counter deta...

Transit agencies in the US use four primary communications mechanisms to dispatch, monitor and manage the operations of their mobile assets: private radio systems, Wi-Fi communications, cellular communications, and track circuits and signaling. Most data communications in the transit industry today are still based on vendor proprietary communications protocols and messaging. This limits agency choices when procuring new systems and often leads to agencies experiencing vendor lock-in where an incumbent ve...

Commuter rail services bring travelers from the rural and suburban fringes to the inner neighborhoods and central business districts of many large metropolitan areas in the U.S. The isolated nature of these rural and suburban commuter rail parking lots makes it difficult and expensive to secure and safely operate these transit assets. Further, as the more than two dozen commuter rail systems in the U.S. try to avoid cash payments for fares and parking fees, they must embrace consumer-friendly options and...