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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) for Public Transit Stations: Year 2</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2446989</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project continues exploring Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in public transit stations to enhance community safety. Through site assessments in Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the study identifies and addresses gaps in CPTED implementation at vulnerable transit locations. The project aims to catalog existing CPTED practices, evaluate additional transit stations, and develop actionable recommendations to reduce crime risk and improve station accessibility, fostering safer, community-centered transit environments that encourage transit use.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:33:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2446989</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Building AI and Machine Learning Technologies for Enhancing Transportation Station Area Safety in San Jose, CA</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431333</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Criminal activities often cluster around transportation hubs like transit stations. While accurate crime prediction tools enhance crime prevention and mobility, few research integrates historical crime data, transportation networks, and hub locations using artificial intelligence (AI). This project develops a machine learning algorithm with the implementation of the software package in Python, leveraging a multi-layered geo-statistical model to predict crimes within transportation systems, enhancing safety and increasing ridership. Unlike past tools focusing solely on historical crime or land use data, this tool combines transportation network insights with hub locations taking advantage of rigorous statistical model. This software package enables local jurisdictions to allocate resources more effectively, plan interventions, and strengthen public safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:27:22 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431333</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Fare Payment Compliance on MBTA Buses and Light Rail</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2355364</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Fare evasion reduces needed revenues to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). There is a need for methods to track fare payment compliance over time to assess fare collection policies and technologies.
It is important to monitor fare payment patterns and the effect of policies and technologies on the MBTA’s ability to collect fares. Although fare gates provide a systematic measure of various types of fare non-payment for the MBTA heavy rail system, it is more difficult to measure different types of non-payment on buses or light rail vehicles. Manual observations are costly and therefore conducted infrequently, so there is a need for methods to track fare payment compliance over time and identify where and when manual checks are most valuable. This project coincides with the Fare Transformation project that changes how passengers pay fares.

This project has two main objectives: (1) To use existing data sources to estimate the rates of fare payment compliance on MBTA buses and light rail services. (2) To develop a method to identify when and where manual spot checks of fare payment/evasion behaviors are most valuable.

The proposed research method is to start with data that the MBTA already collects in a continuous and comprehensive manner. These data include records from automated fare collection (AFC) and from automated passenger counters (APC) used on buses and light rail vehicles in the fleet.  A joint analysis of this data with existing records of infrequent manual observations will be used to develop a model to estimate rates of fare payment compliance across bus and light rail lines. Patterns in the AFC or APC data that are correlated with higher rates of error or uncertainty will provide insights about where and when it is most valuable to conduct manual spot checks of fare payments. The final deliverables will include a replicable method to estimate fare payment compliance on buses and light rail services.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Mar 2024 13:24:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2355364</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Finding Vulnerabilities of Autonomous Vehicle Stacks to Physical Adversaries</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2334517</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Autonomous Driving (AD) vehicles must interact and respond in real-time to multiple sensor signals indicating the behavior of other agents in the environment, such as other vehicles, and pedestrians near the ego vehicle (i.e., the vehicle itself). While autonomous vehicle (AV) developers tend to generate numerous test cases in simulations to detect safety and security problems, to the best of our knowledge, they are not testing for malicious physical interactions from attackers, such as by placing emergency cones in the hood of an AV or driving maneuvers that nearby human drivers or other AVs might perform.
The main goal of our project is to develop automatic testing tools to evaluate the safety and security of autonomous vehicle stacks against unanticipated critical physical conditions created by attackers. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate adversarial driving maneuvers in different real-world scenarios, highlighting the potential consequences for AV safety and security, build an attack framework in a simulation environment to study the optimal discovery of adversarial driving maneuvers, and contribute to the development of a skilled AV security workforce. In this way, this effort aims to enable the deployment of increasingly trustworthy transportation systems.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 05 Feb 2024 15:58:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2334517</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Exploring the relationship between the built environment, safety, and bus ridership in Connecticut using mixed research methods</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2321640</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This research project aims to analyze and improve public transportation safety and ridership in Connecticut, focusing on the interplay between crime rates, bus stop environments, and ridership patterns. In response to concerns about rising crime and declining transit use, the project seeks to identify environmental factors at bus stops that are associated with crime occurrence, using extensive data analysis and field studies. This interdisciplinary approach combines a literature review, spatial data analysis, and surveys to understand how the built environment shapes transit safety perceptions. The study's findings will inform strategies to enhance bus stop safety and increase ridership. Project outcomes will offer practical insights for transit agencies, contributing to safer and more widely used urban transportation systems.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jan 2024 10:20:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2321640</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) for Public Transit Stations</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2250687</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) uses design principles to engineer safer spaces through management of both built and natural environmental features. CPTED principles aim to reduce chances and fear of criminal activity through design of spaces that both deter criminal activity and build community. Vacant lots, poor lighting, uncontrolled access, and lack of monitoring can be ameliorated to design spaces in which people feel – and are – safer. CPTED is multi-disciplinary in nature and has evolved from analysis of spaces, to include social relations and overall livability of areas. Public transportation can be an attractor of crime, and safety is cited as one barrier to public transportation. This project will examine CPTED practices in place in state DOTs and local transit agencies serving Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. As part of the project, the research team will catalog CPTED practices already in use, even if outside of a comprehensive CPTED framework. The team will develop a CPTED checklist for rail and bus stations based on existing literature and analyze CPTED features in place at transit stops/stations in high and low crime areas of cities chosen in consultation with state and local stakeholders. The work will be accomplished through site visits, interviews with state DOT staff and local transportation agencies, and review of transportation station design standards. Based on findings, the team will develop a set of practices and priorities for integrating CPTED into transit station design to fill gaps identified through the study. 

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Sep 2023 13:13:01 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2250687</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices. Topic SB-39. Improving Transit Customer Perception of Personal Security</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149963</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In August 2022, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) released the findings from a global study, Changing Patterns of Violence Pose New Challenges for Public Transport, that found growing violence against passengers and staff on passenger trains, at train stations, a on buses, and at bus stations. Brian Michael Jenkins writes: “The behavior is contributing to a sense of insecurity. A public fearful of traveling adds to economic difficulties for transportation operators and reduced resources for facilities improvements, service, and security. The fact there are fewer riders may contribute even further to a sense of insecurity…”

Passengers may feel exacerbated by the increased number of homeless people using transit. People who are homeless often use public transit vehicles or facilities as shelters to stay out of the weather and to be safe. For various reasons, many transit passengers do not feel comfortable around people who are homeless, especially if these people have mental health or substance abuse issues (TCRP Synthesis 121).

Los Angeles Metro (“Metro”) reports that in their customer survey, rail riders list homelessness as one of the top issues they want the agency to address. (See Metro’s blog. The Source). Metro has been working to solve the homelessness issue since 2017 when its Board of Directors approved Metro’s first Homeless Outreach Plan. However, since the problem is so complex, there is a public perception that Metro is not doing enough.

New York’s MTA Subway Safety Plan (2022) recognizes that crime and homelessness are major issues for the subway system in New York and outlines a three-part plan that will transition people living in subway stations into permanent housing. This plan, also dubbed “Cops, Camera and Care,” will add NYPD and MTA officers, the installation of additional security cameras and intervention teams that help the homeless and mentally ill in the stations while protecting the transit customers. The MTA believes this plan will reduce all types of crime, will make the system safer, and attract more riders.

Other agencies are also struggling with the perception of customers about how they handle issues of crime and homelessness, among others. Some try to improve their customer’s perception by creating customer experience programs that endeavor to improve customer satisfaction, attract ridership, and improve morale. Since safety is a significant concern of riders, the customer experience includes outreach to the homeless population.

OBJECTIVE: This Synthesis will document the current practices transit systems use to improve customer perception of personal security. The report will highlight the following: the strategies that are being used to increase customer perception of  security on transit; whether the strategies are successful; how these strategies are communicated to the public; and the associated change in customers’ perceptions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Apr 2023 17:18:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149963</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>TriMet operator safety and rider awareness campaign</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071586</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) will receive funding to develop and disseminate educational material for riders on how to identify and report potential risks to riders and operators and install digital displays at key transit centers to share information on safety-related topics. The goal is to reduce operator assaults and increase public participation in reporting threats to the safety of operators and passengers.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071586</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The implementation of a public reporting application to enhance safety and security, and the implementation of a public education campaign to increase human trafficking awareness</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071585</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) in Lansing, Michigan, will receive funding to implement an app that allows users to submit public safety concerns with photos, videos and text messages to transit dispatchers. CATA also will conduct a public education campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking on transit.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071585</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Metrorail station pilot- test three different methods of reducing crime and improving public safety</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071584</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will receive funding to implement a pilot study to evaluate ways to reduce crime and improve safety in Metrorail stations. WMATA operates one of the nation's largest rail transit systems, which consists of 118 route miles and 91 passenger stations. This effort would focus on six Metrorail stations experiencing the highest crime rates in the transit system.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071584</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and implement human trafficking awareness campaign and increase staffing for human trafficking law enforcement</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071583</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority will receive funding to develop and disseminate human trafficking awareness materials to passengers, update an existing phone app that provides trafficking victims with information and resources to obtain help, and work with law enforcement agencies to identify best practices for reducing crime on transit. The human trafficking awareness materials will be disseminated via video and audio messages on public address systems on buses.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071583</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and implement comprehensive program, to include training and community awareness campaign, to combat human trafficking</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071582</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (NAIPTA) will receive funding to provide human trafficking awareness training for public transportation staff in Northern Arizona, conduct a human trafficking awareness and public safety campaign, develop an app that allows bus drivers and riders to report suspicious behavior, and provide transit passes for human trafficking survivors involved in workforce training programs. NAIPTA operates the Mountain Line fixed route bus service as well as paratransit service in Flagstaff, Arizona.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071582</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and implement an app that makes it possible for passengers to report security issues</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071581</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The City of Greensboro will receive funding to implement an application that allows transit users to anonymously report safety and security issues ocurring in the transit system directly to dispatchers for instant response. In order to encourage widespread use of the application, the city also will conduct marketing and outreach activities to educate riders and the public on using the application.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071581</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and implement a human trafficking awareness campaign and provide operator assault prevention training</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071580</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The City of Tucson will receive funding for staff training and public awareness campaigns designed to prevent transit operator assaults and human trafficking on transit. The funds will also allow Sun Transit, the city's public transit system, to develop strategies for reducing crime at transit centers.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:13 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071580</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Develop and implement a campaign to address crime prevention, human trafficking and operator assault</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071579</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada will receive funding to address public safety in transit systems, including crime prevention, human trafficking, and operator assault. The project includes training provided by local law enforcement partners for transit operators and a public safety awareness campaign that encourages active involvement by transit employees, passengers, and community members.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:20:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071579</guid>
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