Student Spotlight:
Clare Nelson
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Meet Clare Nelson, a master’s student studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Vermont (UVM)!
Through her research, Clare is interested in education, mileage fees, transportation funding, and land use challenges. As urban and transportation planners advocate for more sustainable development, such as complete streets and smart growth, Clare is curious about the unique ways these strategies apply to small towns and rural communities.
In 2023, Clare was awarded the University of Vermont’s NCST Outstanding Student of the Year for her stellar research. Clare has received the UVM Presidential Scholarship, the UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Scholarship, the UVM D.P. Fay Award, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Scholarship. After receiving her M.S. this August, Clare will stay at the TRC as a researcher to work on new research and finish ongoing projects.
Congratulations on your achievements, Clare!
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TRB's Transportation Symposium on Environment, Energy, and Livable Economies
August 25-28, 2024 | Denver, CO
| Participants in this NCST-sponsored symposium will hear from speakers in academia, consulting, government institutions, associations, and industry discuss the latest research in transportation issues. Topics will include: air quality and greenhouse gas mitigation, resource conservation and recovery, transportation energy, alternative fuels and technologies, and economic development and land use. | |
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7th International Conference on Women and Gender in Transportation
September 9-11, 2024 | Irvine, CA
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Since 1978, the International Conference on Women and Gender in Transportation has served as a forum to highlight how gender considerations can be incorporated into the traditionally male-dominated transport sector. In 2024, the conference theme is "Progress and Possibilities: Bridging Perspectives.” This NCST-sponsored conference will highlight how far recognition of gendered issues in transport have come, while also noting the important work ahead to bridge inequities. Participants and speakers will represent transportation practitioners, researchers, educators, consultants, businesses, advocacy groups and other stakeholders from around the world. Local, tribal, state, and national government agencies will also be represented. | |
Pop Quiz #1! Which city did UC Davis researchers identify as having an effective example of transit-oriented development planning? | |
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How You Can Address Mileage Fee Concerns: Evidence from Three Studies
Clare Nelson | M.S. Student at the University of Vermont
Dr. Gregory Rowangould | Director of the UVM Transportation Research Center; Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Vermont
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Alternatives to motor fuels taxes (colloquially, “gas taxes”) are necessary to supplement declining state and federal transportation revenue. Distance-based fees, like mileage fees, have been suggested, but public support is low. Perceptions of fairness, cost, and privacy are key reasons. In this webinar, the researchers discussed existing support for mileage fees at a national scale, factors affecting low support, and key leverage points for policy makers and DOTs looking to gain support at local, state, and federal scales. | |
Featured Report
Evaluating Support for Mileage Based User Fees in Diverse Communities and the Value of Providing Contextual Information
This study aims to first evaluate support for various mileage based user fee (MBUF) programs in a diverse range of community types, including small and rural communities that have not been the focus of prior research. Then, the team evaluated how providing individualized and place-based contextual information about the impacts of a MBUF program modifies support. The goal of the project was to identify opportunities to increase support in different community contexts through more effective public awareness campaigns.
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METRANS Spring 2024 Speaker Series: Evaluating Alternative Strategies for Traffic Reduction in Los Angeles
Dr. Antonio Bento | Professor at the Sol Price School of Public Policy and Department of Economics at the University of Southern California
| Even if post COVID-19 employers provide increased opportunities for telecommuting, Los Angeles traffic will likely continue to be a major problem. Using big-data from a rich network of detectors located on all freeways in Los Angeles that measure real-time speed and flow (that is, car counts), this seminar highlighted a practical tool for policymakers to infer the effects of alternative strategies for reducing traffic congestion in Los Angeles. | |
Featured Report
Evaluating Alternative Strategies for Traffic Reduction in Los Angeles
Traffic congestion is a major problem in large cities worldwide. This project uses high-frequency data from the Los Angeles metropolitan area combined with an instrument that varies spatially and temporally to estimate the causal impact of an additional vehicle mile traveled on travel times.
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Science and Technology Education Partnership (STEP) Summer Learning Labs: STEM Solutions
UC Riverside hosted the STEP Summer Learning Labs: STEM Solutions, welcoming over 40 high school students to explore various laboratories at UC Riverside, including the Sustainable Transportation Laboratory, Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative, Autonomous Robots and Control Systems Laboratory, Drone Lab, Atmospheric Processes Lab, and the Heavy-Duty Chassis Dynamometer. The interactive sessions allowed students to experience first-hand the systems and simulations that UC Riverside utilizes for research and to learn more about academic pathways that UC Riverside student researchers are taking.
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NCST GIS Summit at Cabrillo High School
CSULB's Center for International Trade & Transportation organized the April 2024 NCST Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Summit at Cabrillo High School, which introduced GIS concepts and application to high school students. Led by CITT members Ben Olson and Rhithu Mandiram, this summit consisted of workshops where students used StoryMaps, a multimedia and mapping tool, to present on various research topics.
This program builds on the NCST white paper "Building a GIS Workshop for High School Students" and the resulting 2022 CITT pilot project that emphasized integrating GIS topics into K-12 education. The summit is a valuable experience for students wanting to familiarize themselves with GIS, an increasingly important skill in everything from environmental science to supply chain management.
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Pop Quiz #2! Did researchers suggest EV incentives should be directed toward more expensive or less expensive vehicles? | |
New NCST Research Projects Kicking Off this Spring | |
Recently Completed Research | |
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Developing an Efficient Dispatching Strategy to Support Commercial Fleet Electrification
Dr. Guoyuan Wu, Dongbo Peng, and Dr. Kanok Boriboonsomsin | University of California, Riverside
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Transportation accounts for 28% of national GHG emissions. Battery-electric trucks (BETs) are an emerging technology that can help mitigate those emissions and associated environmental impacts. However, to maximize their benefits, BETs need to be routed efficiently to reduce energy consumption. In this report, the researchers propose a truck fleet dispatching strategy that incorporates factors like cargo load, battery capacity, loading/unloading time, and vehicle charging. They evaluate and affirm the energy consumption reductions of their strategy using real-world dispatching data.
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End of Life EV Battery Policy Simulator: A dynamic systems, mixed-methods approach
Dr. Alissa Kendall, Margaret Slattery, and Dr. Jessica Dunn | University of California, Davis
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Lithium-ion batteries are a key enabling technology for electric vehicles, which have become an integral part of many GHG mitigation strategies. However, these batteries present environmental and safety concerns, particularly at their end-of-life stage. There is an opportunity to address these concerns by managing battery end-of-life through second-life applications and recycling. This research report consists of four thrusts: assessing the viability of a Recycled Content Standard in the US, analyzing the recycling and repurposing of batteries, charting the battery reuse and recycling network through expert interviews, and understanding affected communities through case studies.
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Stochastic Ridesharing System with Flexible Pickup and Drop-off
Dr. Maged Dessouky and Zuhayer Mahtab | University of Southern California
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Ridesharing—where drivers provide commute to passengers while driving to their destination—can reduce traffic congestion, reduce GHG emissions, and provide transport accessibility to disadvantaged people. One modification to the rideshare system is flexible meeting points, where the driver can pick up their passenger at a predetermined location. In this report, the research team develops a rideshare system with flexible meeting points that also considers uncertainties in the transportation system. Such a system can match passengers with drivers and provide routes that minimizes detours, wait times, and delays, while accounting for the fact that perfect information about the transportation system is unavailable in the real world. | |
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Simulating Bike Transit Trips Using BikewaySim and TransitSim
Reid Passmore | Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Kari E. Watkins | University of California, Davis
Dr. Randall Guensler | Georgia Institute of Technology
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Surveys show that only 1% of American trips are made by bicycle, and that safety is a deciding factor in whether someone chooses to bike. To address this need, transportation planners need a tool to show what kind of bicycle infrastructure would be most effective, and where they should be located. At the same time, the infrastructure’s effectiveness needs to be clear enough to be communicated to decision-makers and the public. The research team used two shortest path calculators—BikewaySim and TransitSim, from the Python-based modeling suite TransportationSim—to assess bicycle infrastructure and model first- and-last-mile connectivity to transit by bike.
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"EPA’s new auto emissions standard will speed the transition to cleaner cars, while also addressing consumer and industry concerns"
UC Davis Assistant Professor Alan Jenn wrote for The Conversation on the EPA's recently-finalized vehicle emissions rule. The new rule sets stricter standards for vehicle air pollutant emissions which will take effect over model years 2027 to 2032. Dr. Jenn writes that although this rule was modified to give automakers and unions more time to adjust, it nevertheless represents a significant pivot from gas-powered cars to EVs. Dr. Jenn also writes that, with greater production of EVs leading to more charger and other infrastructure installations, the EPA rule will encourage electrification nationwide. The new emissions standards are forecast to cut passenger car carbon dioxide emissions, boost EV sales, reduce air pollutant health issues, and standardize EV battery durability across the industry.
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The National Center for Sustainable Transportation is a consortium of leading universities committed to advancing an environmentally sustainable transportation system through cutting-edge research, direct policy engagement, and education of our future leaders. Consortium members: University of California, Davis; California State University, Long Beach; Georgia Institute of Technology; Texas Southern University; University of California, Riverside; University of Southern California; and University of Vermont. | | | | |
