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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>Addressing the Challenges of Encampments on State Transportation Rights-of-Way




</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2533712</link>
      <description><![CDATA[State transportation rights-of-way (ROWs) are often some of the most accessible areas to set up temporary encampments. The growing trend of encampments on state ROWs has presented unprecedented challenges for state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure; there are no widely accepted guidelines to address these challenges.

There is a need to develop a guide that presents promising design, construction, and maintenance approaches for addressing the existence of, or potential for, encampments on state ROWs. This guide will serve as a resource for state DOTs in identifying and implementing practices for reducing and avoiding adverse effects to highway infrastructure due to the presence of encampments.

Recent work completed under NCHRP Project 20-129, “Guide for Addressing Encampments on State Transportation Rights-of-Way,” provided a review of some of the issues related to the encampments on the ROWs. However, additional research and guidance that focuses on design, construction, and maintenance approaches of highway infrastructure that consider the existence of, or potential for, encampments on state ROWs are needed.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop a guide of suggested approaches for the design, construction, and maintenance of highway infrastructure that considers the existence of, or potential for, encampments on state ROWs.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:21:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2533712</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Measures of Transit Ambassador and Outreach Program Effectiveness</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2464328</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Nationally, public transit ridership has not completely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. In some communities, the viability and perceived safety of public transit are further challenged by rising public drug use and increasing levels of unsheltered homelessness. Additionally, many cities are contending with a housing affordability crisis and decreased public funding for social services as COVID-19 era funding ends. These intersecting socioeconomic factors have required public entities, including transit agencies, to respond to new societal and public safety issues, and coordinate or provide trauma-informed care that they have never provided before. 

The urgency and scale of the problem has led to the implementation of ambassador, mental health outreach, or crisis response programs that do not have universal measures of effectiveness or established outcomes. Although many transit agency approaches or programs are supported by the public and experience many qualitative successes, short-term and long-term viability of the programs depends on their ability to demonstrate effectiveness at reducing the impact of disorder and social problems on their system. 

Despite common goals, no two programs are identical. Each operates in a unique sociopolitical climate that influences its functions, abilities, funds, and outcomes. As funding is varied and sometimes not permanent, it is important to be able to measure programs’ outcomes, define success and effectiveness, and share strategies or programs that improve transit operations, public and transit workers safety, and ridership. This research will help transit agencies evaluate the impact of their current programs and design future initiatives with built-in performance metrics. It will also provide a framework for agencies in the early stages of program development.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop guidelines and resources for transit agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of ambassador programs and mental health outreach or crisis response initiatives. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Nov 2024 06:11:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2464328</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>Social Equity and Ecology:A Cross-system Partnership Promoting Transportation as a Transformative Tool for Client Mobility</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1880103</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Through a widely accessible, permanent online training program the proposed education project will teach professionals serving local homeless populations in Dallas Fort Worth and the greater Atlanta metro area how to use transportation as a transformative tool to improve mobility and quality of life of those they serve. Through partnership with local homeless coalitions the proposed project forms a cross systems council of individuals including social work, engineering, housing, transportation, and other social services to develop training targeted at structural barriers of transportation rather than piecemeal transportation resources. This has the goal of increasing the reintegration of individuals experiencing homelessness into larger society. The training will target not only frontline service staff but also mid-and high-level program professionals within the coalitions for a systemic influence within coalition agencies. Thus, not only will the workforce in these coalitions see transportation as essential to mitigating homelessness, they will also have the tools to use for this transformative process.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:19:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1880103</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Guide for Addressing Encampments on State Transportation Rights-of-Way</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854183</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States has increased in recent years; state transportation rights-of-way (ROWs) are often some of the most accessible areas to set up temporary encampments. This growing trend of encampments on state ROWs has presented unprecedented challenges for state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the design, construction, and maintenance of pavements and bridges; there are no widely accepted guidelines relating to this trend. 

 

There is a need to develop a guide that presents rational practices for responding to, managing, and deterring encampments on the ROWs. These practices should consider issues such as social equity, environmental impacts, safety, legal issues, and coordination with other agencies. This guide will serve as a resource for state DOTs in implementing management practices for prevention, cleanup, and tolerance of encampments, thereby reducing the challenges associated with encampments.

 
The objective of this research was to develop a guide of suggested practices for responding to, managing, and deterring encampments on the ROWs. The suggested practices shall address the challenges for state DOTs in the design, construction, and maintenance of pavements and consider social equity, environmental impacts, safety, legal issues, coordination with other agencies, and other relevant issues. However, the project was discontinued near completion of Phase I (background and planning for research to produce the guide).

 ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2021 22:01:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854183</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Legal Aspects of Transit and Intermodal Transportation Programs. Topic 20-03. Policing and Public Transportation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1722785</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Public transportation agencies strive to offer safe, clean, courteous, and accessible service for the safety, convenience, and comfort of their customers. To achieve these standards, public transportation agencies must enforce rules and police their system against problems like vagrancy, trespassing, vandalism, and violence. Some agencies have their own dedicated police force; others rely on local police. In either case, the policing of public transportation systems raises a variety of legal questions like coordination among forces, who has jurisdiction when a crime crosses city/county lines, the distinction between civil and criminal behavior, constitutional search and seizure issues, balancing public safety concerns with Second Amendment rights, evidentiary demands, and public records laws. In addition, public transportation systems rely upon police forces to enforce customer codes of conduct and to prevent stations and vehicles from becoming shelters for persons experiencing homelessness.
The objective of this research is to produce a report that provides practical advice and a summary of the law for lawmakers, police forces, public transportation agencies, and their attorneys to consult when making decisions about how to police public transportation systems. This research will result in (1) a comprehensive summary of the constitutional issues applicable to the policing of public transportation systems; and (2) a review of select public transportation agencies as examples of the organizational and contractual structures used to effectively police vehicles and premises.
Specific issues to be examined include:
(1) Fourth Amendment; 
(2) Second Amendment; 
(3) Homelessness; 
(4) Fare enforcement, including the use of post-certified versus non-post-certified officers, and the effects of an open/closed or paid-fare/free-fare system; 
(5) Common carrier; 
(6) Public relations;
(7) Discrimination/profiling; 
(8) Inter-force agreements; 
(9) Issues raised by multiple jurisdictions. 
The legal research digest should include the following:
(1) A comprehensive summary of constitutional issues relating to the policing of public transportation systems;
(2) A discussion of legal questions implicated by the enforcement of fare policies, codes of conduct, homelessness, and the general policing of public transportation;
(3) Reviews of lawsuits that have challenged or resulted from the policing of public transportation systems;
(4) A summary of the organizational and contractual structure of select public transportation agencies, including organizational charts, and inter-agency and inter-force agreements;
(5) Recommended strategies for effective administration, training, and enforcement; and
(6) Discussion of potential pitfalls: what terms or practices to avoid if possible.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2020 18:55:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1722785</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Quick-Response Research on Long-Term Strategic Issues. Task 40. Homelessness: A Guide for Public Transportation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1704618</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A broad array of economic and social factors, physical and mental health conditions, and public policies contribute to increases in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, for short and long periods of time, in the United States. Public transportation systems are faced with significant increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness, including people using public transportation services and facilities as shelters. TCRP Project J-11/Task 40 is not intended to resolve the underlying influences that give rise to homelessness in our society and recognizes that these drivers are beyond the control of public transportation agencies. Rather, this project is intended to help public transportation agencies preserve the quality of their services and facilities, while respecting the rights and mobility needs of those experiencing homelessness, including the need for safe places.  
 
In 2016 TCRP published Synthesis 121, Transit Agency Practices in Interacting with People Who Are Homeless.  The Synthesis included a state of the practice review and (3) six case examples of public transit agencies that present challenges, solutions, partnerships and lessons learned based on interviews with individuals involved with policies and outreach to individuals who are homeless. Many public transportation agencies are cognizant of their respective region’s homeless population.
 
The objective of this research is to develop a guide for public transportation agencies and concerned stakeholders on effective approaches and best practices that are responsive to those who are experiencing homelessness.
 ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2020 17:23:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1704618</guid>
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