The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB)’s financial statements are audited in a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General. This report also assesses the internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and other matters.

A metric that quantifies mobility energy productivity is described in Measuring Mobility Potential , a research brief from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy. This metric tracks changes in mobility within a single city, location, or place over time. It aims to assess the impact of emerging mobility choices.

The accuracy of operations counts at non-towered airports is determined in Technology Assessment to Improve Operations Counts at Non-Towered Airports , a report from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Accurate airport operations counts are used to allocate funding for airport development and improvement, but several airports do not have air traffic control personnel available to count operations. This report, therefore, identifies appropriate technologies to do so.

The needs of commercial space launch operators and their clients are analyzed in Impact of Commercial Space Launch Activities on Aviation , a report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service. This report identifies the impacts of the rapid increase in commercial launch activity on airspace and safety in the aviation sector.

The U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA’s) oversight of Hurricane Sandy recovery grantees’ compliance is assessed in a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General. The FTA awarded grants after Hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012 for response, recovery, and rebuilding projects. This report identifies which grantees complied with the requirements to carry required insurance and reported on insurance proceeds.

An initiative to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure has been announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This initiative, Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) , focuses on rural road safety and freight conditions.

A pilot program is analyzed in Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Independent Evaluation: Program Evaluation Plan , a report from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. This report describes a pilot program for deploying connected vehicles (CV) through the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. It determines whether the CV pilot program achieved its goals and estimates the program’s total costs and impacts.

The newly designed database for collecting automated national traffic crash data is described in Crash Investigation Sampling System: Design Overview, Analytic Guidance, and FAQs, a report from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This report explains how the database uses estimation to determine data and provides examples of its survey data.

The ways the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) identifies carriers that are not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles are evaluated in a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General. This report also identifies challenges the FMCSA may face when implementing the suggested corrective action plan.

Transitioning fleets to electric vehicles (EVs) is explored in a report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy. Fleets exploring the possibility of adding EVs seek an efficient, data-driven means to estimate both expenditures for vehicle and charging infrastructure and the appropriate placement of them to help ensure the cost-effective adoption of these technologies.