The 101st annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) is coming up January 9 - 13, 2022, and has returned to an in-person gathering in Washington, D.C. Supported by funding from the U.S. DOT, research from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities will be featured at this annual gathering.

Below we've rounded up some highlights of research being presented by transportation experts from our participating NITC-funded campuses: Portland State University (PSU), University of Oregon (UO), University of Utah (UU), University of Arizona (UA), and University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Please check out our full NITC guide for all of the sessions:

*Due to the evolving status of speaker attendance and TRB programming for next week, please check your TRB schedule for the most current information in the event of changes.*

NITC Research Highlights at TRB 2022

Multi-University Projects

Exploring the Relationship Status of In-store and Online Grocery Shopping During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Wed, Jan 12th (8 - 9:30 AM)
Poster A212 at Session 1374 Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Activities and Travel
Gabriella Abou-Zeid, ICF; Max Nonnamaker, PSU; Kristina Currans, UA; Amanda Howell, UO; Kelly Clifton, PSU

Using novel survey data, researchers highlight the complexity of relationships between online and in-person food shopping behaviors during the pandemic, controlling for household and individual characteristics, COVID-19 related experiences, and attitudes.

Effects of Intersection Design on Non-Optimal Behaviors of E-Scooter and Other Users
Wed, Jan 12th (8 - 9:30 AM)
Poster B680 in Session 1377 Noteworthy Practices in Innovative Intersection and Roundabout Designs
Dong-ah Choi, UU; Brandon Siracuse, City of Council Bluffs; Kristina Currans, UA; Nicole Iroz-Elardo, UA; Torrey Lyons, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Reid Ewing, UU

The research team observed rates of non-optimal behaviors across different locations, including signal violations, e-scooting/biking on sidewalks or in vehicle lanes, vehicles encroaching on active traveler spaces, and distractive riding/walking. The presence of bike lanes correlates with lower rates of e-scooter riders on pedestrian sidewalks.

Exploring the Costs of Addressing Equity in the Transition to Cashless Fare Collection
Wed, Jan 12th (10:30 AM - 12 PM)
Poster B691 at Session 1418 Public Transportation Fare Policy and Marketing: Research Results and Implications for Practice
Aaron Golub, PSU; Anne Brown, UO; Candace Brakewood, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; John MacArthur, PSU

This NITC-funded project was uniquely structured as a "pooled fund" study; learn about the project or read more about the study in NextCity's deep dive article: What Happens When Cash Fares Are Eliminated? 

Portland State University

Distribution Free Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Test for the Travel Time Buffer Index
Wed, Jan 12 (10:30 AM - 12 PM)
Poster A111 at Session 1412 Road Scholars: New Research in Travel Time, Speed, and Reliability Data
Avinash Unnikrishnan, PSU; Subhash Kochar, PSU; Miguel Figliozzi, PSU

Travel time reliability is a key metric of interest to practitioners and researchers. In a newly-funded NITC project, Statistical Inference for Multimodal Travel Time Reliability, Avi Unnikrishnan will continue to work on defining an overall travel time reliability metric for an arterial segment that considers all modes.

University of Oregon

Extending Access: Examining the Prevalence and Types of Equity Requirements in U.S. Bikeshare and E-Scooter Programs
Mon, Jan 10 (8 - 9:30 AM)
Poster A320 in Session 1068 Transportation Equity Mega-Poster Session
Anne Brown, UO; Amanda Howell, UO; John Larson-Friend, UO

Shared mobility services such as bikeshare and shared e-scooters have proliferated in the U.S. over the past twenty years. Anne Brown and Amanda Howell are working on two simultaneous projects examining equity in these services. The first is a research project evaluating equity requirements in shared mobility programs, and the second is a technology transfer project aimed at developing practitioner-ready tools to operationalize equity in shared mobility services.

University of Utah

Electric Vehicle Demand Estimation and Charging Station Allocation Using Urban Informatics
Wed, Jan 12 (4 - 5:30 PM)
Poster A221 in Session 1430 Current Issues in Alternative Fuels and Technologies
Zhiyan Yi, UU; Xiaoyue Cathy Liu, UU; Ran Wei, University of California, Riverside; Yirong Zhou, UU; Jianli Chen, UU

This paper performs a novel data-driven approach to optimize electric vehicle (EV) public charging infrastructure. It is related to NITC-funded work on the deployment of battery electric buses, which prioritizes improving air quality in low-income communities.

University of Arizona

Do Complete Streets Make a Difference for Jobs, People, and Commuting? 
Tues, Jan 11 (10:30 AM - 12 PM)
Poster A392 in Session 1283 Rethinking Urban Streets
Arthur Nelson, UA; Robert Hibberd, UA

Influence of Transit Station Proximity on Demographic Change Including Displacement and Gentrification with Implications for Transit and Land Use Planning (Download PDF)
Tues, Jan 11 (10:30 AM - 12 PM) 
Poster B601 in Session 1230 Built Environment, Accessibility, and Equity Considerations in Public Transportation
Arthur Nelson, UA; Robert Hibberd, UA

Both of the above posters draw on nearly a decade of research led by Arthur C. Nelson, investigating transit's impacts on jobs, people and real estate. Read more about that multi-volume NITC project.

University of Texas at Arlington

Transit Deserts: A Result and Cause of Economic and Social-Cultural Inequity
Tues, Jan 11 (10:30 AM - 12 PM)
Presentation P22-20382 in Lectern Session 1124 Managing Transit Equitably
Diane Allen, UTA

This presentation will address how population shifts have resulted in the creation of transit deserts, and how transit deserts impact access to employment and other services that impact quality of life.  How solutions, such as Catalytic Forecasting, can be employed to address the challenge of overall transit access in transit desert communities will also be presented.

Developing Public Transportation Performance Measures for Assessing the Service of Transit Dependent Riders
Tues, Jan 11 (10:30 AM - 12 PM)
Presentation in Lectern Session 1124 Managing Transit Equitably
Stephen Mattingly, UTA; Noelle Fields, UTA; Courtney Cronley, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Kate Hyun, UTA; Vivian Miller, Bowling Green State University; Nithisha Reddy Gudipati, UTA; Shirin Kamali Rad, UTA; Erin Roark, UTA; Jobaidul Alam Boni, UTA

This study adopts a Community Based Participatory Research approach to provide a bottom-up strategy to identify the transportation needs of transportation disadvantaged populations. NITC efforts related to this work include a project on App-based Data Collection to Characterize Latent Transportation Demand within Marginalized and Underserved Populations as well as one on Access to Opportunities: Redefining Planning Methods and Measures for Disadvantaged Populations.

Student Highlights

NITC STUDENTS OF THE YEAR

The Outstanding Student of the Year award is presented during the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) banquet at each annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, where the U.S. Department of Transportation honors an outstanding graduate student from each UTC. Read more about the NITC Students of the Year.

• Outstanding Student of the Year: Kelly Rodgers, Portland State University
• PhD Student of the Year: Darshan Chauhan, Portland State University
• Masters Student of the Year: Apy Das, Portland State University

TRB MINORITY STUDENT FELLOW

University of Arizona: Ash Avila

As part of its commitment to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in transportation, the TRB founded the Minority Student Fellows Program in 2010 to fund students from select minority-serving institutions to attend and present their research at the TRB Annual Meeting and help them engage in TRB’s network of transportation professionals. In 2022, UA's Ash Avila joins 15 undergraduate and 9 graduate students selected as minority student fellows. Learn more about Ash in her August 2021 Student Spotlight Interview.

Ash will be presenting poster A122 on The Effect of Vehicles on Personal Heat Exposure: A Pilot Study, in poster session 1268: TRB Minority Student Fellows Research Presentations, on Tuesday, January 11 at 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM.

EISENHOWER FELLOWSHIPS

The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program awards fellowships to students pursuing degrees in transportation-related disciplines. This program advances the transportation workforce by helping to attract the nation's brightest minds to the field, encouraging future transportation professionals to seek advanced degrees, and helping to retain top talent in the U.S. transportation industry. From its initial support of graduate research fellowships in 1983, to the current program's inception in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the fellowship program has awarded over $50 million to the brightest minds in the transportation industry.

Portland State University: Cameron Bennett

Cameron is a first-year masters student in transportation engineering and the current president of STEP, Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning at PSU. He will present a poster in session 1136 (Monday, Jan 10 at 1:30 PM) Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program Posters, Part 2: How E-Bike Incentive Programs Are Used To Expand The Market (download the poster PDF).

University of Oregon: Brendan Irsfeld

Brendan is a master's candidate in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Oregon's School of Planning, Public Policy and Management.

University of Arizona: Adrian Cottam

Adrian is a PhD student at the University of Arizona. He will be presenting poster B562, Transit Arrival Time Prediction by Fusing GTFS and Crowdsourced Data, in session 1236: Transit Data Making Headway: New Applications, New Findings, and New Advances on Tuesday Jan 11, 8 - 9:30 AM. Adrian has received support from NITC since he was an undergraduate student, and is now pursuing his doctorate. Learn more in his 2019 Student Spotlight interview.

University of Texas at Arlington: Abhinav Awasthi, Juana Perez, Nice Kaneza, Erica Robinson, and Basleal Takele 

• Abhinav Awasthi is a fourth-year bachelors student in civil engineering. He also works as a teaching assistant in civil engineering at UT Arlington, and has worked as a research assistant doing data analysis for a project on green pavement roads.
• Juana Perez received her Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. As a first-year masters student in civil engineering, she is currently working on "Understanding Distracted Driving Behaviors" with NITC support.
• Nice Kaneza is a second-year doctoral student in geotechnical engineering, also working as a graduate research and teaching assistant. Nice has conducted soil research for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) among other agencies.
• Erica Robinson is a second-year doctoral student in social work. She earned a bachelor's degree in Social Work with an emphasis in American Ethnic and Cultural Studies from Texas Woman's University and a master's degree in Social Work from UTA with a concentration in Community and Public Administration.
• Basleal Takele is a fourth-year bachelors student in civil engineering, also working as a research assistant at UTA. 

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The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) is one of seven U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. NITC is a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. This PSU-led research partnership also includes the Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Oregon, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Utah. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.