Research Projects | National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Understanding the Impact of Decentralizing Homeless Services on Transportation and Mobility in Salt Lake County

Principal Investigator: Sarah Canham

Co-Investigators: Ivis Garcia , Jeff Rose , Shannon Jones

How can relocating services away from a downtown center change the transportation decisions and patterns for persons experiencing homelessness? And how do those changes affect access to the services they need? New research from the University of Utah ... Read More

Data-Driven Optimization for E-Scooter System Design

Principal Investigator: Jianqiang Cheng

Are e-scooters just the first sign of a shared-mobility revolution? If they are, then researchers at the University of Arizona intend to make sure that the emerging transportation system has functional models on par with other modes of transportation ... Read More

Is Transit-Oriented Development Affordable for Low and Moderate Income Households?

Principal Investigator: Reid Ewing

Co-Investigators: Nicole Iroz-Elardo , Arlie Adkins

Transportation and land use planning, as a field, is shifting away from segregated uses connected by highways and streets to more compact, mixed-use developments connected by high-quality transit. This new paradigm has brought special attention to tr ... Read More

Mobility for the People: Evaluating Equity Requirements in Shared Mobility Programs

Principal Investigator: Anne Brown

Co-Investigator: Amanda Howell

Shared micromobility programs for e-scooters and bike share are becoming more common each year. How can we make sure they aren’t just being used for fun, but they’re also being prioritized for those who need a quick, affordable and accessible way ... Read More

Evaluating Improved Transit Connections for Ladders of Opportunity

Principal Investigator: Stephen Mattingly

Co-Investigators: Yi-Chang Chiu , Sia Ardekani , Courtney Cronley , Noelle Fields

Many transit operators employ limited strategies to provide connectivity to transit, like bicycle racks on buses. This project will examine more innovative options, such as: subsidies, hybrid ride sharing business models, flexible routing, smaller tr ... Read More

Exploring Data Fusion Techniques to Estimate Network-Wide Bicycle Volumes

Principal Investigator: Sirisha Kothuri

Co-Investigators: Joe Broach , Nathan McNeil , Kate Hyun , Stephen Mattingly

In order to make sure bicyclists' needs are considered when improving a transportation system, planners and engineers need to know how many people are biking, and where. Traditional bicycle counters can provide data for limited sections of the bi ... Read More

Scooting to a New Era in Active Transportation: Examining the Use and Safety of E-Scooters

Principal Investigator: Kristina Currans

Co-Investigators: Reid Ewing , Nicole Iroz-Elardo

In recent years, shared electric scooters (e-scooters) have taken cities around the world by storm. But how are people using this new mode of transportation? Seeking to understand the potential impacts of e-scooters on land use, infrastructure and su ... Read More

Evaluation of Portland Shared E-Scooter Pilot Program Goals and Outcomes

Principal Investigator: John MacArthur

Co-Investigator: Jennifer Dill

Shared electric scooters (e-scooters) are fast becoming a mobility option across the U.S. Many cities are permitting their operation, in part, as a way to provide another option to driving private cars. This could reduce private vehicle miles travell ... Read More

Examining the Impact of Transportation- Related Barriers on Self-Perceived Physical Health among Adults in the United States

Principal Investigator: Philip Baiden

Co-Investigators: Godfred Boateng , Stephen Mattingly

What is the relationship between access to transportation and our own perception of physical health? That's the question researchers explored in the latest report funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), "Examini ... Read More

Development of Intelligent Multimodal Traffic Monitoring using Radar Sensor at Intersections

Principal Investigator: Siyang Cao

Co-Investigator: Yao-Jan Wu

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) need traffic data to run smoothly. At intersections, where there is the greatest potential for conflicts between road users, being able to reliably and intelligently monitor the different modes of traffic is c ... Read More

Modeling Capacity: Multiple Weaving Areas

Principal Investigator: Sheida Khademi

Co-Investigators: Behruz Paschai , James Williams

Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Traffic congestion on freeway systems is one significant concern in urban areas throughout the U.S.A ... Read More

Connected Streetcar Project

Principal Investigator: Kristin Tufte

Co-Investigators: Larry Head , John MacArthur

This project will create a foundation for deploying connected vehicle infrastructure and facilitating connected vehicle research for the NITC UTC. Connected Vehicle (CV) technology and the associated data has the potential to help us better understan ... Read More