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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <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>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>A Framework for Integrated Quality of Service Evaluation using Operational and Safety Considerations</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2703926</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project addresses a critical gap in transportation decision-making by examining the relationships among safety and operational performance measures that State DOTs typically use for planning, design, and operations. While agencies rely on different metrics depending on application, such as crash-based measures for safety projects and travel time reliability or delay for congestion management, there is limited guidance on how these measures interact or how they should be jointly considered when evaluating alternatives. Using multi-source data from State DOTs and third-party providers along major corridors in Region VII, the project will quantify correlations, trade-offs, and synergies among key performance measures and develop a practical, multi-objective evaluation framework tailored to common DOT applications. The resulting framework and guidance will enable agencies to conduct more consistent, transparent, and context-sensitive evaluations that better balance safety and operational objectives.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 22:41:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2703926</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Safety, Empowerment, and Dignity: Improving the Airport Journey of Customers Using Wheelchairs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2226019</link>
      <description><![CDATA[For wheelchair users, the airport experience can often be challenging and frustrating. A survey conducted by Paralyzed Veterans of America in 2022 found common issues include negotiating check-in, locating an agent for assistance if needed, clearing security, navigating to the gate, and boarding the aircraft. This experience is often complicated by the fact that users may be separated from their wheelchair, and, during this time, the wheelchair may be lost, damaged, or delayed. ACRP Research Report 210: Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities (2020) and other research have identified many of these barriers, but it is unclear if current strategies to address these challenges are successful and if additional strategies may be needed. Research is needed to develop resources to assess current practices and improve the wheelchair user experience at airports with safety, empowerment, and dignity.

The objective of this research is to develop a handbook to help airport industry practitioners meet the needs of wheelchair users and enhance their personal safety, empowerment, and dignity. The handbook should allow practitioners to adapt guidelines and recommended practices to their unique conditions (e.g., airport size, resource availability, governance structure, and applicable laws).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 10:01:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2226019</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Addressing Travel Needs of Women and Families on Public Transportation



</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2083657</link>
      <description><![CDATA[TCRP Report 265: Addressing Travel Needs of Women and Families on Public Transportation provides useful tools for public transit agencies and stakeholders interested in improving their systems to meet the needs of women and families. The research focused on understanding how United States transit agencies are engaging in efforts to make their systems more attractive and welcoming for women and families, what hurdles they face in doing so, and what efforts have proven successful. The research included a national public transit agency survey, focus groups, and case studies. This report will be of use to transit agencies of all sizes and modes, stakeholders, and others concerned with addressing the travel needs of women and families.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2022 09:10:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2083657</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implement a Regional Cloud-based Traffic Management AI System to Improve Transit Travel times, Enhance Mobility on Demand (MOD) Services, Reduce Congestion, and Improve Incident Response Times.</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2077897</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Central Ohio Transit Authority will receive funding to unify multiple streams of traffic and transit management data on a cloud-based platform and use artificial intelligence to enhance operations, improve safety and efficiency, develop new channels of communication, and improve the rider experience across the region.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2022 09:48:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2077897</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, Fourth Edition






</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1893350</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) is a cornerstone of the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) report series. It has consistently been TCRP’s most downloaded and viewed document and is used throughout the United States by public transportation practitioners and other industry professionals. Numerous universities use it as a basic transit education tool in various courses. Also, TCQSM has become known and applied throughout the world, having been downloaded in more than 116 countries.

The manual was designed as the transit counterpart to the Highway Capacity Manual, an authoritative, regularly updated document presenting highway capacity and quality of service principles and practices. The TCQSM is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource document presenting information on principles and practices related to transit capacity for all transit modes and quality of service from the passenger’s point-of-view. Throughout its history, TCQSM has served as an implementation tool for relevant TCRP research.

In addition to incorporating the research that has occurred since 2013, the TCQSM, Fourth Edition, needs to address recent developments in the public transportation industry. Numerous transit technologies and practices have emerged or advanced that should be addressed (e.g., transit automation, electric buses, micromobility, fare payment technologies, Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), shared-use services, and the use of big data to measure service quality). In addition, the transit capacity and quality of service effects of the COVID-19 pandemic can provide lessons for similar events that may occur in the future. 

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop the TCQSM, Fourth Edition, that reflects the latest transit capacity and quality of service research and applications. This research project should include a detailed review of transit capacity and quality of service research and applications and identify elements of TCQSM, Third Edition, that are no longer relevant.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2021 18:50:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1893350</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transit Dependents, Choice Riders, and Service Criticality: An Analysis of the Determinants of Bus Ridership in the Philadelphia Region</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1758050</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will develop and test an empirically based theory of transit-dependency using a predictive model of transit mode choice in the Philadelphia region. We will also examine station-level shifts in transit use in response to the Covid-19 outbreak in the Philadelphia region and how these correspond with the distribution of transit dependents throughout the region.   Transit dependents are sometimes crudely defined in opposition to choice riders who generally have access to a private car but choose transit, generally commuter rail or subway, instead of driving. However, lower-income riders who rely on buses to accomplish their day-to-day travel needs and are sometimes classified as transit dependents may be among the transit users who are closest to choosing between transit and an alternative mode, particularly private cars. Small increases in earnings or changes in transit service quality may therefore have the biggest influence for transit users who are sometimes viewed or described as captive. Understanding who is most likely to respond to shifts in service quality and where they live is an essential part of understanding how service improvements and deteriorations are likely to impact public transit ridership. Findings may also provide insight into factors that may have contributed to overall reductions in transit ridership over the past decade.   Examining the neighborhood factors associated with higher or lower declines in ridership since the Covid-19 outbreak will provide additional insights into where transit service is most critical and how well service-criticality overlaps with areas where residents are most and least likely to respond to changes in service quality more generally.    In addition to contributing to the general literature on the determinants of bus ridership and theories of transit dependency, the analysis may provide evidence on the types and locations of neighborhoods that are most likely to increase or decrease transit use in response to service changes from a planned bus network redesign.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2020 14:35:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1758050</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices. Topic SG-19. Paratransit Service Delivery Models for Small Systems</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1708344</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This Synthesis will explore paratransit delivery models for small systems (fewer than 50 fixed-route buses and often a dozen or fewer vehicles operating paratransit service). Research is complete and the final deliverable is available as TCRP Synthesis 161.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2020 20:16:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1708344</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices. Topic SA-53. BRT State of Practice, Experience, and Lessons Learned</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1708341</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This TCRP synthesis will document the current practices and lessons learned of US and Canadian transit systems that utilize BRT components to improve the reliability of bus service, bus travel time, operation efficiency, and customer satisfaction, and to increase ridership.
 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2020 07:42:17 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1708341</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Reliability and Quality of Service Evaluation Methods for Rural Highways

</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628600</link>
      <description><![CDATA[NCHRP Research Report 1102 presents a guide for traffic analysis of rural highways that connects the individual highway segments into a connected, cohesive, facility-level analysis. The guide describes the development of an automobile level of service methodology for rural highways, the development of guidelines for assessing historical travel time reliability for rural highways, an overview of analysis methods for cycling on rural highways, and recommendations for bicycle operations research. The guide should be of interest to state departments of transportation and other agencies charged with monitoring, maintaining, and improving rural highways of regional or statewide importance.

Rural highways account for a significant portion of the national highway system and serve many vital mobility purposes. Rural highways often span long distances and may consist of segments with a variety of cross-section elements as well as intersections with different traffic controls. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), the standard reference for traffic analysis methodologies, contains analysis methodologies for all the individual segments or intersections that may comprise a rural highway; however, it does not include a methodology or guidelines for connecting the individual roadway segments into a connected, cohesive, facility-level analysis. 

Under NCHRP Project 08-135, “Reliability and Quality of Service Evaluation Methods for Rural Highways,” the University of Florida was asked to develop (1) reliability and quality of service analysis methodologies for rural highway facilities consistent with existing HCM methods and (2) a guide on the application of the analysis methodologies. The guide is intended to assist with the evaluation of rural highways in motorized vehicle traffic operations per HCM analysis methods and probe vehicle data analysis methods, and it provides an overview of alternative analysis methods for bicycles and recommended bicycle operations research. The guide is organized into three main parts: analysis methodology descriptions; case studies using real-world routes to demonstrate the analysis methodologies in the guide; and an overview of the component HCM analysis methodologies that are incorporated in the rural highway analysis methodology for automobiles.

In addition to NCHRP Research Report 1102, a conduct of research report summarizing the entire research effort, to be published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 392 is available on the TRB website at trb.org.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 08 Jun 2019 10:04:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628600</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Improving Access and Management of Transit ITS Data</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1577716</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Data from bus and rail intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are a valuable resource for transit service planning and management.  In particular, vehicle location and passenger activity data from automatic vehicle location (AVL), automatic passenger counter (APC), and automatic fare collection (AFC) systems can be used to provide essential insight into transit operations and to inform decision making to increase the efficiency, productivity, and safety of transit service. There are, however, significant challenges for transit agencies in accessing and using this data. Many agencies cannot get to the data at all or do not understand the data they have. Data validation and quality control, integration and matching across various data sets, and aggregating data are all difficult, as is developing the types of reports, tools, and analytics that contribute to informed decision making. Even when transit agencies, researchers, and consultants do address these challenges, they often have difficulty sharing their work with their peers in the industry because the same types of data may be managed differently among transit agencies. The result is that transit ITS data is rarely used to its full benefit.

Creating a common approach to accessing and managing transit ITS data would facilitate the development and exchange of data management practices, of advanced reports and tools, and of new analytical techniques among transit agencies. The use of the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format as the basis for a wide variety of service planning and customer information tools is a useful comparison. By providing a common way of representing schedule data, GTFS has facilitated significantly faster development of tools than would otherwise occur if every transit agency had their data in different formats. As a result, there is a recognized need for research to generate similar advancements in the use of transit ITS data, replicating improvements comparable to what GTFS has achieved for schedule data.                           

The objective of this research is to develop a common, practical approach to storing, accessing, and managing fixed-route transit ITS data.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 08 Jan 2019 07:15:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1577716</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Update of Highway Capacity Manual: Merge, Diverge, and Weaving Methodologies</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516154</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Freeway congestion usually occurs at freeway merge, diverge, and weaving segments that have the potential to develop bottlenecks. To alleviate or mitigate the impacts of congestion at these segments, a number of active management operational strategies have been implemented such as ramp metering, hard shoulder running, managed lanes, etc. The current freeway merge and diverge methodologies in Chapter 14 of the 6th edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) were developed over 25 years ago using limited field collected data. Although weaving segment analysis was updated more recently, the relationship with the merge and diverge methodologies have not been clearly addressed. In addition to limited data, the methodology does not conform to the fundamental relationship of traffic flow, namely that flow is the product of speed and density. The HCM does not offer any methodology for lane drops or additions, which often occur in the vicinity of freeway merge/diverge segments. In the past decade, the data available to traffic engineers have expanded exponentially with ubiquitous sensor coverage of urban freeways and probe vehicle coverage of entire roadway networks.  These new datasets provide a wealth of information to support the development of updates or changes to the merge, diverge, and weaving segment methodologies, and potentially complement traditional data sources.
The objectives of this research were to (1) develop methodologies to update the HCM related to merge, diverge, and weaving methodologies; and (2) pilot the developed methodologies to demonstrate the full range of applicability of the proposed updates to the HCM.  
 ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2018 19:25:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516154</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Development and Assessment of Performance Measures for Evaluating and Improving Regional Transit Coordination Using GTFS Data</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1397928</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The focus of the proposed study is to extend the application of General Transit Feed System (GTFS) data in order to develop performance measures and analytical techniques designed to evaluate, categorize and improve coordination of regional transit operations and services. While personal mobility in the United States relies heavily on the private automobile and associated infrastructure, numerous social, economic and environmental benefits can be achieved by fostering convenient and effective public transit systems. However, fostering convenient and efficient public transit systems will require both considerable investment and, important to this research, regional coordination. The separation of urban, suburban and exurban public transportation services has meant that people who travel across jurisdictions—e.g., .from cities to rural areas and between suburban areas—often find public transit a difficult or unviable mode of transportation; thus transit agencies and operators need to become less parochial and more unified and regional. This study seeks to build on the public transit quality of service, regional transit coordination and general transit feed system (GTFS) literatures to develop standards that are both meaningful and readily applicable to improving regional inter-agency transit operations and services. To this end, the project team's methodological approach is carried out in five steps: (1) The initial step is to conduct a comprehensive review on state-of-the-practices in regional coordination and, specifically, identify performance measures that are potentially relevant for evaluating coordination across complex jurisdictional transit terrains; (2) In step two, the project team aligns variables represented in the GTFS data with other relevant spatial information to operationalize—via Python scripts and a PostGIS spatial database—above performance measures or indices of regional transit coordination; (3) In step three the project team draws from previous research, reports and recent GTFS data to develop a stratified sample of regions with complex, multi-operator public transportation systems to test the performance measures; (4) In step four the project team executes the performance measures on the study areas delineated in step three; and (5) The final step entails surveying and interviewing select transit agencies to assess the accuracy and potential usefulness of the indices.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2016 09:26:18 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1397928</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transit Service Reliability: Analyzing Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Data For On-Time Performance and to Identify Conditions Leading to Service Degradation </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1396080</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The main objective of this scope of work is to conduct research on the use of automatic vehicle location (AVL) data for improving transit service reliability. This can be achieved by using better on-time performance techniques and by identifying conditions leading to service degradation that can assist transit agencies in providing higher quality of service. This research will concentrate in two related areas for improving service reliability: 1) investigate the challenges and issues towards measuring, monitoring, and improving on-time performance and 2) identify service conditions observable in AVL data that precede service problems. Output products would include recommendations for improving on-time performance and a list of candidate factors or conditions that could lead to service degradation and how transit agencies could use this information. The results from this research may warrant the development of computerized tools as the next step. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:21:46 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1396080</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating the State of Mobility Management and Human Service Transportation Coordination </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1396082</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed objectives of the study are as follows:
1)      Synthesize previous research on the effectiveness of mobility management and coordination programs.
2)      Develop an onboard survey instrument that could be used in different locations and across time to evaluate the impacts of mobility management and coordination programs on end users.
3)      Determine the impacts of mobility management and coordination programs in meeting the goals of efficiency, ease of access, and quality of service.
4)      Assess the effectiveness of mobility management and coordination programs in meeting the needs of transportation disadvantaged populations from the perspective of the end users.
5)      Develop and test an evaluation model that could be applied to other communities across the country. 

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:16:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1396082</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Transportation Infrastructure Robustness: Analysis And Measurement</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1378067</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project proposes to analyze and measure the robustness of transportation infrastructure facilities and systems. This proposal falls into the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC) category of “faculty-initiated research projects”. It addresses a topic related to the goals of “maintaining an infrastructure transportation system in a state of good repair” to “enhance the Nation’s economic competitiveness”, which have been designated by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and UTRC as key research areas.

To meet the criterion of “state of good repair”, transportation infrastructure systems must provide an adequate peak–hour, Level of Service (LOS). LOS is measured in units of traffic (vehicles or passengers), that traverse a unit distance (1 mile), per unit time (1 hour) at a minimum required speed (mile/hour) and at minimum safety level (collision rates). LOS deterioration is due to normal usage and natural depreciation in infrastructure quality, or due to impacts of rare disastrous shocks such as a major storm. From economic perspective, a decline in LOS carries significant economic costs to users in terms of increased travel times, reduced system reliability, and increased vehicle operating costs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:48:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1378067</guid>
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