Travelers who are blind or visually impaired use a variety of cues and strategies to orient themselves within their surroundings and move through space to where they want to go. This wayfinding process can be particularly challenging in complex urban environments where some cues, such as detectable edge treatments, the sound of surging parallel traffic, or other indicators may be inconsistent, confusing, misleading, or missing. TCRP Research Report 248: Tactile Wayfinding in Transportation Settings for T...

Changes in technology provide opportunities and risks to mobility, particularly as they relate to traditionally and newly underserved populations. In recent years, economic, environmental, and social forces have quickly given rise to shared and on-demand mobility—a collective of entrepreneurs and consumers leveraging technology to maximize transportation and financial resources and generate capital. For instance, shared mobility services have become part of a trend that has pushed shared, on-demand mobil...

Transit agency leadership must make a real and concerted effort to take the mental health and overall wellness of frontline workers more seriously. Leadership can play an important role by making a clear commitment and dedicating resources to address mental health, wellness, and resiliency at their agencies. Ultimately, this means that more funding and staff resources are needed to address barriers and to develop, implement, and support programs aimed at improving mental health, wellness, and resiliency....

The COVID-19 pandemic left many persons with disabilities and older adults without reliable transportation to access essential goods, medical care, and social engagements. Issues of social isolation for older adults were exacerbated with the emergence of COVID-19 because transportation service was reduced. TCRP Research Report 243: Transportation for People with Disabilities and Older Adults During COVID-19: Lessons for Emergency Response , from TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program, aims to provide...

Unemployment, low wages, poverty, and lack of affordable housing are the main drivers of an increasing homeless population throughout the U.S. in recent years. Transit agencies are being impacted by homelessness. While transit agencies cannot address the underlying causes of homelessness, there are opportunities to work with local partners to be a part of helping individuals in need, while providing a safe, reliable, and customer-friendly experience for all riders. TCRP Research Report 242: Homelessness:...

Virtual public engagement can be a more inclusive and equitable way to engage with communities, but it is important to consider the digital divide and use a variety of approaches and tools to reach all community members. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, transit agencies had limited virtual communication tools. However, the pandemic encouraged agencies to adopt new virtual strategies and practices. TCRP Research Report 241: Inclusive Virtual Public Involvement for Public Transit , from TRB's Transit Cooper...

As of 2020, nearly 50 percent of the bus-operator workforce was over 55. Evidence indicates that many younger job seekers are often not aware of the potential career opportunities and employee benefits that are available at transit agencies. TCRP Research Report 240: Bus Operator Workforce Management: Practitioner’s Guide , from TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program, provides recommendations and resources enabling transit agencies to better assess, plan, and implement their operator workforce manage...

Transit agencies are increasingly offering an alternative service for their Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit riders. This service is typically an on-demand or same-day transportation option subsidized by a transit agency and is an alternative to the next-day service of ADA paratransit. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Research Report 239: Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies: The Intersection of Regulation and Program details how alternative services p...

Recognizing the strong recent interest throughout the United States to consider and implement fare-free transit, decision-making tools are needed to help public transit practitioners evaluate fare-free transit. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's  TCRP Research Report 237: Fare-Free Transit Evaluation Framework  presents a framework that can be used by public transit practitioners to evaluate the potential benefits, costs, and trade-offs of implementing fare-free transit. Supplementa...

Ferry transportation services play an important role in regional transportation—providing additional transit capacity to transportation networks and serving as a lifeline for many geographically-isolated communities. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's  TCRP Research Report 238: Quantitative Procedures for Designing and Operating Ferry Services presents guidance for scheduled and fixed-route ferry transit services and facilities that serve passengers as well as passengers and vehicles. Gu...