TRB's Victoria Sheehan at TRA Conference

TRB Executive Director Victoria Sheehan (pictured on the right, discussing TRB's Critical Issues in Transportation) moderated a session on the transportation agency of the future yesterday at the Transport Research Arena conference in Dublin, Ireland. She also signed a memorandum of understanding between TRB and UITP: The International Association of Public Transport to formalize an already-long-standing partnership and will speak tomorrow on a panel entitled "Women in Transport - Agents of Change." Several TRB sponsors and volunteers are attending TRA to share their work and learn from European colleagues.

Earth Day Hands-on Science Activities Planned and Open to the Public

Earth Day is Monday, April 22. The National Academies has planned Earth Day Heroes, a day of family fun on Saturday, April 20, from 11 AM to 3 PM Eastern at the National Academy of Sciences Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public and will feature hands-on science activities such as pollinator puppets, making your own soil, and the Glen Echo Park Aquarium touch tank. Register here!

After you register, remember to refresh yourself on TRB's many environment-related resources on:

• EVs and alternative fuels
• Resilience planning
• Air quality and emissions

Intercity Buses Poised for Post-pandemic Recovery

The intercity bus industry experienced unprecedented growth before the COVID-19 pandemic and seemed poised for further expansion. The industry embraced technology to provide dynamic scheduling and pricing, booking and boarding were simplified through customer-friendly applications and electronic ticketing, and customers were enticed by free Wi-Fi and onboard entertainment.

TRB volunteer Matthew W. Daus from City College of New York writes in the latest issue of TRB's magazine, TR News (Issue 348), that while a full recovery has not yet occurred, ridership is steadily increasing and operators are adding more routes and new services. He posits that intercity buses could be poised to come back stronger than before.

Sign in through MyTRB.org to subscribe to TR News.

“AI Is a Tool, and Its Values Are Human Values.” (National Academies' Issues in Science and Technology)

How do Florida's distracted-driving laws compare to other states, asks WPBF (West Palm Beach) TV. The online article cites a 2001 report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and TRB's Behavorial Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program that examined how effective distracted driving laws and their enforcement strategies have been in the United States and Canada.