While personal electric vehicles (EVs), electric buses and other transit options are becoming more commonplace, the market for larger electric trucks is still developing. Higher purchase prices, limited driving ranges and access to charging infrastructure all contribute to the delay in adopting larger electric trucks (e-trucks). New analyses suggest optimal locations for e-truck charging stations in Minnesota.
Continue reading Optimizing Charging Infrastructure for Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric TrucksCategory Archives: Policy and Planning
‘Transportation Insecurity’: A New Metric to Evaluate Programs and Guide Decision Making
Reprinted from CTS News, December 7, 2023
—Sophie Koch, contributing writer
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.
Continue reading ‘Transportation Insecurity’: A New Metric to Evaluate Programs and Guide Decision Making
Future of Mobility: Infrastructure Health and Security
Reprinted from Catalyst, November 9, 2023
—Pam Snopl
What’s next in the future of mobility? Infrastructure is always critical—the challenge of how to fund, protect, and maintain it continues unabated, whether from wear and tear or malicious cyberattacks.
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COVID-19 pandemic substantially changed commuting patterns, job access
Reprinted from CTS News, October 9, 2023
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.
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Cybersecurity for Automated Vehicles
Article reprinted from the Center for Transporation Studies, July 2023
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Maximizing Equity in Managed Lane Planning
Managed lanes provide transportation agencies with a strategy for reducing congestion and improving travel times along urban highways. A common perception is that the benefits of managed lanes are greater for higher-income people than for those with lower incomes, often from underrepresented communities. New research illustrates the diversity of managed lane users and provides new metrics and recommendations to factor equity into the highway project planning process.
Continue reading Maximizing Equity in Managed Lane PlanningOn the Road to Somewhere
Measuring access to opportunities is the future math of mobility.
In December 2022, Twin Cities policymakers and planners celebrated the opening of the D Line, the latest bus rapid transit project by Metro Transit. The new line strengthened the spine of service running north-south through the urbanized core of the region: from Brooklyn Center, following Minneapolis’ long axis to the south, through the gridded suburbs of Richfield and Bloomington all the way to the Mall of America. Largely replacing Minnesota’s single busiest bus route (Route 5), the D Line features expanded high-frequency hours, higher-capacity vehicles, and improved trip speeds. The D Line represents the best of local transit service, an undoubtable improvement for the mobility of transit riders.
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Alternative Transit Approaches for Rural Communities
Meeting transit needs in rural communities can be challenging. A new pilot study demonstrated the benefits of using mobile technologies and existing assets to enhance transit services and improve local economies.
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Researchers Identify Freight Data Sources, Create Guidance to Aid Infrastructure Planning
The goods that continuously move through Minnesota by road, rail, air, water, and pipelines drive the state’s economy, making efficient freight transit—and excellent freight infrastructure—a high priority for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
Continue reading Researchers Identify Freight Data Sources, Create Guidance to Aid Infrastructure PlanningPersonal Stories Illustrate Transportation Inequities in Minnesota
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.
Continue reading Personal Stories Illustrate Transportation Inequities in Minnesota
Crossroads 