Safety and Public Health Impacts of Microtransit Services
"Safety and Public Health Impacts of Microtransit Services" is a research initiative that seeks to understand the broader implications of on-demand microtransit services on community safety and public health. Given the rapid emergence of these services, especially in suburban and rural areas of Massachusetts, the project is designed to investigate two main aspects: the reduction in road safety risks for transit passengers and the effects of induced microtransit trips on public health. The research is divided into two parts. The first part quantifies the change in safety risk for microtransit passengers who switch from walking, bicycling, or using fixed-route transit. This involves analyzing microtransit trip records and pedestrian crash data to understand roadway characteristics and associated risks. The second part examines the public health impact of new access afforded by microtransit, especially in terms of employment, education, medical care, healthy food, and social activities. The research will leverage data from the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority’s microtransit service and potentially other operators, employing methods such as survey analysis, mathematical modeling, and pedestrian crash risk analysis. The project is collaborative and interdisciplinary, involving the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), microtransit operators, and students from various disciplines. The findings will be shared with MassDOT and microtransit operators to guide funding and operational decisions, and disseminated through academic publications and conferences.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $150000
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Contract Numbers:
69A3552348301
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
130 Natural Resources Road
Amherst, MA United States 01003 -
Performing Organizations:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
130 Natural Resources Road
Amherst, MA United States 01003 -
Principal Investigators:
Gonzales, Eric
- Start Date: 20240101
- Expected Completion Date: 20241231
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
- Subprogram: University Transportation Centers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Communities; Demand responsive transportation; Micromobility; Public health; Public transit; Regional transportation; Safety
- Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
- Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01905081
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: New England University Transportation Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3552348301
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Jan 19 2024 10:28AM