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, con...

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 barrier...

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 capita...

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 Durin...

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 providi...

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. ...

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 ...

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 Alternativ...

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 f...

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 practitio...

An overall objective of the transit community is to help develop an enhanced and more inclusive approach to public transportation planning and decision making. Public transportation planners have a critical role in addressing and correcting many of the problems caused by a 20th- and 21st-century transportation sector that severely impacted and, in some cases, destroyed Black communities in the bui...

With the proliferation of automatic vehicle location, automatic passenger counters, and automatic fare collection, transit agencies are collecting increasingly granular data on service performance, ridership, customer behavior, and financial recovery. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's  TCRP Research Report 235: Improving Access and Management of Public Transit ITS Data proposes a...

Fare evasion is generally defined as a passenger using public transit without paying the required fare or possessing the required fare media or valid proof of fare payment. Fare evasion has significant implications for the financial sustainability of transit systems and must be replaced by another stable source of funding. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program  TCRP Research Report 234...

A great risk facing the rail transit and commuter rail industries is the continuing problem with trespassing incidents occurring on systems throughout the United States. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 1: Guidebook provides guidance on strategies to deter trespassin...

Trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail rights-of-way is a longstanding issue impacting every agency. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's  TCRP Research Report 233: Strategies for Deterring Trespassing on Rail Transit and Commuter Rail Rights-of-Way, Volume 2: Research Overview provides guidance on strategies to deter trespassing on rail transit and commuter rail rights-of-wa...

Advancements in the automation of transit vehicles will likely have significant impacts; however, the possible effects on the public-transportation workforce is largely unknown. This is due partly to the fledgling state of transit vehicle automation and partly to the significant amount of uncertainty about how and when automated transit services become more prevalent. The TRB Transit Cooperative R...

Rethinking mission and service delivery, rethinking fare policy, giving transit priority, careful partnering with shared-use mobility providers, and encouraging transit-oriented density are among the strategies transit agencies can employ to increase ridership and mitigate or stem declines in ridership that started years before the COVID-19 pandemic. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's ...

Micromobility refers to small, low-speed vehicles intended for personal use and includes station-based bikeshare systems, dockless bikeshare systems, electric-assist bikeshare, and electric scooters. Micromobility has the potential to increase the number of transit trips by expanding the reach of multimodal transportation, but it also could replace transit trips. The TRB Transit Cooperative R...

Transit vehicle fires have safety implications for passengers and employees as well as liability implications for manufacturers, suppliers, and operators. Many of the electrical/arcing fire events experienced in the transit industry have led to a total loss of the vehicle and/or serious smoke incidents. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's  TCRP Research Report 229: Assessing and Mi...

Many transit agencies are striving to improve diversity and inclusion. They continue to initiate and sustain programs and develop more innovative strategies. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Research Report 228: Resource Guide for Improving Diversity and Inclusion Programs for the Public Transportation Industry builds on the snapshot of transit agency diversity initiatives provi...