Over the years, major railways and transit agencies have heavily invested in programs to enhance the early detection of track movement and high rail temperatures. Extreme rail temperatures, lateral push, and vertical pumping pose significant risks to railway infrastructure, leading to track misalignment, buckling, and kinking, which result in passenger and freight train delays, derailments, and costly repairs. TRB's Transit IDEA Program Final Report 102: The Magnetic Rail Movement Measuring Device for Ra...

One of the most critical challenges facing rural and small urban transit agencies in the United States today is the scarcity of available funds. Although volunteers can help transit agencies reduce operational costs, barriers such as difficulties attracting, retaining, and coordinating volunteers, inhibit the widespread use of volunteers by transit agencies. TRB's Transit IDEA Program Final Report 97: Open Platform to Attract, Organize, and Coordinate Volunteers for Rural and Small Urban Transit , propos...

The use of robotic assistance in public transportation has been a critical research topic for improving accessibility to transportation for people with disabilities. TRB's Transit IDEA Program Final Report 100: TrainMate Robotic System Making Public Transportation, Public! details the conceptual TrainMate robotic system, designed to be a cost-effective, ADA-compliant train-station assistant robot for helping passengers with mobility disabilities independently board and deboard trains at non-accessible, s...

With the projected increase in urban populations, cities around the world are looking for ways to manage existing infrastructure demands while reducing congestion and air pollution. TRB's Transit IDEA Program Final Report 101: Citopia MaaS/Multimodal Transit examines MOBI's Citopia as a promising solution to the growing demands of mobility and low-carbon transportation. The federated Web3 marketplace and tokenized ecosystem is designed with multimodal trip planning, trip booking, navigation, and payments...

Palo Alto, Calif.’s 2012 Bicycle + Pedestrian Transportation Plan has an unrealized goal to double bike commute trips, and technology could be a part of achieving that goal. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 99: Bike Love details the Palo Alto Transportation Management Association's implemention of a “Bike Love” mobile app that provides daily incentives for verifiable active mode first-mile commute trips to transit and active mode commutes from ...

There is a growing interest in deploying autonomous vehicles for public transportation. In the U.S., transportation agencies are exploring the impacts of incorporating automation on safety or mobility, especially for low-speed automated vehicles (LSAV). The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 98: Safety Assessment of the Interaction Between the Autonomous Shuttle Bus and Vulnerable Road Users identifies potential safety issues regarding LSAV interacti...

Bus electrification is an effective way of mitigating carbon emissions in the wake of technological advancements. Electric transit bus systems (ETBS) are receiving increasing attention across the globe. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 96: Multi-stage Planning for Electrifying Transit Bus Systems with Multi-format Charging Facilities details a decision support tool that can be used by transit authorities when making electrification-related deci...

Innovative automated solutions could help increase transit ridership, improve transit safety, and increase transit revenue. The TRB Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program's Connected and Automated Parking Feasibility – A Pilot Study is the first pilot study in the United States to test the benefits transit agencies may obtain from deploying automated parking technology.

Train dispatchers could use Augmented Reality (AR) to view their current displays in 3D. Such an interface would allow dispatchers to use hand and head movements, along with voice commands, to manage the same things that they do currently on their multi-monitor displays, such as track diagrams, alarms, train and station information, and setting of train movements. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 92: Augmented Reality Dispatcher Interface summa...

Safety technologies and programs aimed at reducing or eliminating risky driving behaviors may prevent a large number of crashes. The TRB IDEA (Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis) Program's Transit IDEA Final Report 88: Evaluation of an Automatic, Individual Computer-Based Driver Education and Training Program analyzes a software program that uses onboard safety monitoring data to monitor driver behavior and automatically assign relevant, individualized online driver training as needed.