National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Most people who bike for transportation can probably think of "that one intersection:" The light where it's impossible to get a green without waiting. Even when there are no cars, pedestrians or other bikes in sight, you still know you'll have to stop and wait a while, sacrifice all your momentum, and wish you could have given the signal advance notice that you were coming.

Researchers at the University of Oregon have created an app for that.

Lead investigator Stephen Fickas, a computer and information science professor at the UO, developed the app, along with a specially-designed Bike Connect ‘box' (watch the 3-minute video) that attaches to a traffic signal controller. With the box installed, the app allows a cyclist to alert the signal that they're...

Corrie Parrish, University of Oregon

Corrie Parrish is a masters student in the community and regional planning program at the University of Oregon (UO). She is the current president of LiveMove, UO's transportation and livability student group, as well as the Equity Initiative graduate employee for UO's School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM). She has also worked as an outdoor recreation assistant and naturalist assistant for Five Rivers MetroParks in Ohio, and as an outreach and project coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in New Mexico.

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Update (March 2019): Recipient of the Eno Future Leaders Award

Corrie Parrish has been selected as one of 20 of the nation's top graduate students in transportation and will take part in the prestigious Eno Future Leaders Development Conference, taking place in Washington, DC, June 2 – 6, 2019! The Future Leaders Development Conference provides a first-hand look at how transportation policy is developed and implemented. Corrie and others will meet with top government officials, leaders of...

THE NEW PROJECT

As transit agencies modernize their fare payment systems, opportunities to pay with cash diminish. This speeds boarding and lowers the cost of operations, while also creating new sources of ridership data. Arguably, service is improved for riders as well, where payment systems work across modes, and in some cases different transit providers, creating a more seamless and simplified experience. Still, about 15% of adults in the United States are without a bank account or credit card, and many rely on restrictive cell-phone data plans or don’t have access to a smartphone. These shares are even higher for public transit users. As transit fare technologies move further from cash, these digitally-excluded riders will find it more difficult to conveniently pay their transit fares.

In the latest project to be funded under the National...

The success of public transportation depends upon public understanding of, and support for, livability. In response to new Oregon state requirements to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light-duty vehicles, a team of University of Oregon (UO) researchers reviewed public communication strategies around transit investments. The overarching conclusion? The most effective framing of public transportation benefits is not around climate change, but rather on livability. Communication should focus on the benefits to people's pocketbooks...