This interactive webinar, presented by the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation (CHAI) in partnership with the Center for Transportation Studies (CTS), will explore the topic of transportation and aging, with special attention to the challenges and opportunities in rural areas. The event will feature a presentation by Lisa D’Ambrosio and a discussion including three panelists of diverse professional backgrounds from Minnesota who will share their experiences and recommendations regarding transportation for older adults in rural areas.
Originally published in Catalyst, January 16, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic took a major toll on public transit and shared transportation services in Minnesota, causing ridership and revenues to plummet. And it wasn’t just an urban problem: Smaller rural agencies and services saw sharp declines, too.
Reliable transportation has a huge impact on quality of life. Many Americans, however, are unable to travel where and when they need to go, and policymakers lack tools to measure the extent of the problem.
Patterns of movement in cities, especially office job commutes, were substantially altered in 2021 by telework, economic change, and other responses to COVID-19, according to new research from the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota. While the immediate effects of these behavioral changes, such as reduced congestion and lower transit ridership, have been well documented, new data reveals deeper impacts that differ by the three modes studied: auto, transit, and biking.
Transportation research is often about numbers. In a recent study, however, U of M researchers looked beyond the data to hear the transportation experiences of real people from underserved communities in Minnesota.
When a person wants to take a trip across the country, they can choose from a variety of travel planning apps to help make that happen. But what if the trip they want to take is from Mankato to New Ulm, or within their own community, using non-personal transportation?
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has launched a pilot project to bring trip planning and payment technology for daily trips to areas less dense than urban settings.
Residents and visitors in southern and western Minnesota now have the ability to plan for and, in some cases, pay for public transit and intercity bus trips using the Transit app. Travel and route information for these agencies went live within Transit on March 1.
Transit, a free app available for download in Google Play or the Apple App Store, is used in more than 300 cities around the world. It allows users to see route and travel options for public transit and connecting services. Select agencies also have in-app ticketing, allowing riders to pay for fares electronically and then show their device to transit drivers to ride.
“This pilot with the Transit app focuses on rural areas because this technology has not yet been made available outside of Minnesota’s big cities,” says Elliott McFadden, MnDOT’s Greater Minnesota Shared Mobility Program coordinator. “The project will be the first to bring the latest technology to make it easier to plan and take trips in many communities in Greater Minnesota.”
The pilot will run through April 2024 and is funded by two innovation grants from the Federal Transit Administration at a cost of $1.9 million.
U of M researchers led by Alireza Khani will evaluate the project to help determine whether this technology should be scaled to the rest of the state. Focusing on southern Minnesota, the research team will work closely with MnDOT’s project management team and the platform development team to study these questions:
How do residents of the region benefit from having access to a variety of mobility options through an integrated platform?
To what extent does the platform help increase transit ridership and reduce personal vehicle use?
How can the features of the platform—such as route planning or pricing—be optimized for greater system efficiency and benefits for all residents?
“Our goal is to provide the data and analysis policymakers need to make the most effective transit investments,” says Khani, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering.
Surge pricing in rideshare apps leads to more complaints from customers, which ultimately eats away at drivers’ incomes, according to new U of M research.
How has the pandemic affected downtown commuters’ travel behavior and perceptions of public transportation?
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a major toll on public transit ridership—raising questions for the future. Will people associate public transportation with health and safety risks and avoid using it? Will they see public transportation as a less desirable transportation alternative?
Originally published inCatalyst, February 13, 2023.
Public transit services are vital for community health and connectivity, yet the transit solutions found in urban areas—such as frequent bus service and light rail—don’t exist in rural areas. As a result, mobility may be limited in rural communities because of the high costs and low availability of affordable, reliable transportation options.
Crossroads 