Blog

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 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 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 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) 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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) Legal Research Digest 56: The Ramifications of Post-Kelo Legislation on State Transportation Projects explores the consequences of legislation enacted by state legislatures that limits the use of eminent domain in response to the 2005 United States Supreme Court case of Kelo v. the City of New London, where the Court held that the use of eminent domain to take nonblighted, private property for a city-approved, privately implemented economic development plan was constitutional.

The report examines how state legislation has affected the use of eminent domain for economic development, for condemning blighted and nonblighted property, and for restricting transfers of condemned property to private parties. The report also examines how states have legislatively redefined the concept of “public use.”

TRB\’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 21: Driver Selection Tests and Measurement synthesizes information on the use of tests, measurements, and other assessment methods used by commercial truck and bus companies in the driver selection process. The report also identifies and describes driver selection methods and instruments and their potential usefulness in predicting driver crash risk.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 12: Framework and Tools for Estimating Benefits of Specific Freight Network Investments provides a framework and tools designed to help estimate the private and public benefits of potential freight infrastructure investments.

The evaluation framework is intended to assist public planning and decision-making processes regarding freight; to supplement benefit/cost assessment with distributional impact measures; and to advance public-private cooperation.

The framework is capable of handling projects that span all of the different modes and able to assess benefits from a variety of project types, including those that are designed to improve freight operations, as well as those that would generate more capacity through infrastructure expansion.

TRB\’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 716: Travel Demand Forecasting: Parameters and Techniques provides guidelines on travel demand forecasting procedures and their application for helping to solve common transportation problems.

The report presents a range of approaches that are designed to allow users to determine the level of detail and sophistication in selecting modeling and analysis techniques based on their situations. The report addresses techniques, optional use of default parameters, and includes references to other more sophisticated techniques.

NCHRP Report 716 is an update to NCHRP Report 365: Travel Estimation Techniques for Urban Planning.

TRB\’s Conference Proceedings 48: Financing Surface Transportation in the United States: Forging a Sustainable Future—Now summarizes a May, 2010 conference that focused on developments in innovative funding techniques and options for securing continued revenue to support national infrastructure and mobility needs.

Views presented in Conference Proceedings 48 reflect the opinions of the individual participants and are not necessarily the views of all conference participants, the planning committee, TRB, or the National Research Council.