Category: News

TRB\’s Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP) Research Results Digest 2: Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program: A Status Report provides an update on the industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to improve the information used in managing risk associated with the transportation of hazardous materials.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 693: Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Skilled Staff for Transportation System Operations and Management provides guidance designed to help transportation agencies recruit and retain qualified professional staff in the systems operation and management (SOM) area.

The report explores SOM career paths, skill requirements, and training needs and identifies successful programs, state-of-the-art initiatives, and best industry practices.

A set of tables showing SOM job categories, number of positions, and educational requirements for all 50 states was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 182: Appendices to NCHRP Report 693.

In addition, a summary of the results of the project that developed NCHRP Report 693 and suggestions for senior management personnel related to attracting, recruiting, and retaining skilled staff for transportation system operations and management are available in an online Executive Workbook.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 356: Analysis of State Rural Intercity Bus Strategies: Requirements for Utilization of S.5311(f) Funding provides a snapshot of the current status of the program across the nation, and also provides states with examples and recommendations for program implementation.

Section 5311(f) funds intercity bus service in rural areas, and is a component of the Section 5311 Rural and Small Urban Areas Program.

NCHRP RRD 356 documents the research and findings conducted under two NCHRP 20-65 task order projects: Task 20—Analysis of Rural Intercity Bus Strategy, and Task 25—Evaluate Requirements for the Utilization of Section 5311(f) Funds for Intercity Bus Service. Both projects focus on state-level implementation of the Federal Transit Administration\’s (FTA) Section 5311(f) funding program. The objectives of the Task 25 research complemented and expanded the work that was under way for Task 20, and thus the research results have been combined into a single report.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 94: Innovative Rural Transit Services highlights transit and rural intercity bus service responses to changing rural community transportation needs. The report includes an emphasis on the innovative and/or entrepreneurial spirit, the innovator, and the conditions required for innovation.

TRB\’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 37A: Guidebook for Measuring Performance of Automated People Mover Systems at Airports is designed to help measure the performance of automated people mover (APM) systems at airports.

The guidebook identifies, defines, and demonstrates application of a broad range of performance measures encompassing service availability, safety, operations and maintenance expense, capacity utilization, user satisfaction, and reliability.

The project that developed ACRP Report 37A developed the set of forms below that are designed to help periodically compile the necessary data for input into the overall performance measurement process.
Form A: System and Service Descriptive Characteristics
Form B: Airport APM Performance Measures Page 1 of 2
Form B: Airport APM Performance Measures Page 2 of 2
Passenger Satisfaction Survey

The project also developed an interactive Excel model containing spreadsheets that can be used to help track and calculate system-wide performance and service characteristics.

The set of forms and Excel model are only available electronically.

ACRP Report 37A is a companion to ACRP Report 37: Guidebook for Planning and Implementing Automated People Mover Systems at Airports, which includes guidance for planning and developing APM systems at airports.

Disclaimer: The software linked to from this page is offered as is, without warranty or promise of support of any kind either expressed or implied. Under no circumstance will the National Academy of Sciences or the Transportation Research Board (collectively “TRB”) be liable for any loss or damage caused by the installation or operation of this product. TRB makes no representation or warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, including without limitation, the warranty of merchantability or the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and shall not in any case be liable for any consequential or special damages.

TRB\’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 12: Fair Disclosure and Airport Impact Statements in Real Estate Transfers examines the effect of a state or locality having no real property disclosure laws, explores existing general state real property disclosure laws, and discusses existing state real property disclosure laws specifically requiring the disclosure of airports in close proximity to the property being offered for sale.

The report also highlights annotated typical fair real property disclosure law provisions including provisions considered important for effective fair disclosure of airport-related impacts.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Results Digest 103: Sustainable Public Transportation: Environmentally Friendly Mobility is an overview of an international study mission that explored how public transportation systems in several cities in India and China have implemented plans, policies, technologies, and strategies for creating more livable communities through bus, metro, bus rapid transit, rail, and light rail systems.

The Indian and Chinese systems visited were designed to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, lower operating costs, and provide safe and accessible transportation services.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault highlights practices and policies implemented by transit agencies to deter and mitigate assaults on bus operators.

TRB\’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 57: The Carbon Market: A Primer for Airports provides information on carbon and other environmental credit trading markets, and highlights the potential opportunities and challenges to an airport’s participation in these markets.

The primer also addresses the new terms and concepts related to the carbon and other environmental markets.

TRB\’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 20: Potential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational Efficiencies addresses risk avoidance strategies and highlights their use and perceived safety effects. The report is designed to assist motor carriers in deploying their vehicles in ways that may minimize crash risk.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 709: Investigation of Short-Term Laboratory Aging of Neat and Modified Asphalt Binders provides a proposed method of testing for short-term laboratory aging of neat and modified asphalt binders using the modified German rotating flask as an alternative to the rolling thin film oven test.

The following appendixes A-E to NCHRP Report 709 are only available in electronic format:
Appendix A: Binder Aging Bibliography
Appendix B: Selection Study Report
Appendix C: Volatile Collection System Study Report
Appendix D: SAFT Optimization Study Report
Appendix E: Verification Study Report

TRB\’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 24: Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles examines driving distractions, as well as any protective (safety-enhancing) effects of particular devices. Distracted driving for commercial drivers is defined as attending to tasks not directly related to operating the vehicle.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 366: Local and State Partnerships with Taxicab Companies discusses how states and local governments might promote partnerships with taxicab companies for provision of public transportation.

In the context of the report, a “partnership” typically involves some form of contract for service, but also includes less formal arrangements as well as regulatory involvement intended to expand or create service for the public.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 96: Off-Board Fare Payment Using Proof-of-Payment Verification examines the application of proof-of-payment (PoP) on transit systems in North America and internationally.

TCRP Synthesis 96 updates TCRP Report 80: A Toolkit for Self-Service, Barrier-Free Fare Collection.

Issues address by TCRP Synthesis 96 include evasion rates, inspection rates, enforcement techniques, duties of fare inspection personnel, adjudication processes, and the kinds of penalties involved for evasion.

TRB\’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 23: Operator Drug- and Alcohol-Testing Across Modes explores practices used to deter drug and alcohol use among operators within the U.S. Department of Transportation\’s (DOT\’s) regulated community.

The report includes a brief history of the transportation workplace drug- and alcohol-testing program, the general approach, the reasons for testing, some of the issues that impact the validity of the tests, and an outline of the specific regulations by mode.

Some alcohol- and drug-testing statistics are presented in the report to help provide a sense of the scope of the program and of the prevalence of illegal alcohol and drug use among safety-sensitive employees.

The report also highlights alternative strategies aimed at helping to deter illegal alcohol and drug use among employees.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 370: Guidelines for Project Selection and Materials Sampling, Conditioning, and Testing in WMA Research Studies summarizes a May 2011 workshop designed to help foster cooperation and coordination among warm-mix asphalt (WMA) research studies.

The goals of the workshop were to help identify the laboratory and field-test methods and sample preparation, curing, and conditioning procedures in use in Federal Highway Administration-, National Cooperative Highway Research Program-, state departments of transportation-, and industry-sponsored research projects and to agree on a core set of methods and procedures that would be commonly used, insofar as possible, in all present and future WMA studies.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Legal Research Digest 39: Competition Requirements of the Design/Build, Construction Manager at Risk, and Public-Private Partnership Contracts—Seven Case Studies explores the use of various project delivery methods, including design-build, construction management at risk, and a number of options considered public-private partnerships, through the examination of seven separate construction projects in various parts of the United States.

The examinations of the seven selected projects are designed to show how particular, and often unique, problems were addressed in each project by utilizing a wide variety of procurement and delivery methods.

TRB\’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 152: Guidelines for Ferry Transportation Services examines the history and characteristics of ferry systems throughout North America and offers guidelines for planning, marketing, operating, and managing a ferry system as a component of an overall transportation network.

The report also explores the potential benefits of and impediments to ferry transportation services and identifies potential planning, operational, and management benchmarks.

TRB\’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 22: Safety Management in Small Motor Carriers explores small motor carriers’ strengths and weaknesses in safety management, and identifies potentially effective safety practices.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Results Digest 369: AASHTO T 209: Effect of Agitation Equipment Type on Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity Values evaluates the effect of using various devices and methods on measured values of theoretical maximum specific gravity (Gmm) used to determine the air void content and the in-place density of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) as described by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) T 209, Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity and Density of Bituminous Paving Mixtures.

According to the report, AASHTO T 209 describes a test method for determination of the theoretical maximum specific gravity (Gmm) and density of uncompacted HMA. The Gmm and the density of HMA are fundamental properties whose values are influenced by the composition of the HMA mixtures in terms of types and amounts of aggregates and asphalt materials.

Gmm is used to calculate percent air voids in compacted HMA and to provide target values for the compaction of HMA. Gmm also is essential when calculating the amount of asphalt binder absorbed by the internal porosity of the individual aggregate particles in HMA.