Economics and Finance

Benefit Cost Analysis Applied to Behavioral and Engineering Safety Countermeasures in San Francisco

Greene-Roesel, Ryan
2013

The state of the practice in safety has advanced rapidly in recent years with the emergence of new tools and processes for improving selection of the most cost-effective safety countermeasures. However, many challenges prevent fair and objective comparisons of countermeasures applied across safety disciplines (e.g. engineering, emergency services, and behavioral measures). These countermeasures operate at different spatial scales, are funded often by different financial sources and agencies, and have associated costs and benefits that are difficult to estimate.This research proposes a...

SafeTREC - UCTC Seminar: An Innovative Performance Based Approach to the Health Impacts of Transit Investments

Co, Sean
2014

The epidemic of obesity and increased health care costs is a growing issue that is no longer confined to the public health field. Transportation agencies have begun to examine the impact of projects on public health. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission conducted a first of its kind benefit cost analysis of projects to be considered in the long range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). This performance assessment of transportation investments was conducted to assess the impacts of projects on levels of transit and walking and biking. Bay Area residents that received increases in...

Low Cost Upgrades to At-Grade Crossing Safety Devices

Cooper, Douglas L
Ragland, David R
Felschundneff, Grace
2013

The only way to absolutely prevent all drivers from going around lowered gates at level rail-highway crossings is to make it physically impossible, or at least very difficult, for them to do so. While there are various options to accomplish this (constructing a separation of grade, closing the crossing, or deploying an impenetrable concrete barrier), most have high monetary or social costs. Alternative approaches—such as channelization devices and long-arm gates—while not 100 percent effective, can be used to prevent deaths and injuries while remaining economically feasible. Research has...

Development and Application of the San Francisco Pedestrian Intersection Volume Model

Schneider, Robert J.
Henry, Todd
Mitman, Meghan F.
Stonehill, Laura
Koehler, Jesse
2013

The San Francisco pedestrian volume modeling process refined the methodology used to develop previous intersection-based models and incorporated variables that were tailored to estimate walking activity in the local urban context. The methodology included two main steps. First, manual and automated pedestrian counts were taken at a sample of 50 study intersections with a variety of characteristics. A series of factor adjustments were applied to produce an annual pedestrian crossing estimate at each intersection. Second, log-linear regression modeling was used to identify statistically-...

Giving cycling the green light: An overview of transportation in Ireland and the design of the National Cycle Network

Manton, Richard
2013

Similarly to the US, driving a car to work continues to gain ground in Ireland and the country is presented with major challenges in environment and health as a consequence. In safety, at least, Ireland has had some major successes. In 40 years, the number of fatalities has fallen from 640 to 162, a drop of 75%. Such improvements in road safety have been attributed to a combination of education, enforcement and engineering. Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities have each fallen by 66% in 20 years, however, this could be attributed to the lower numbers of people walking and cycling....

Social Equity Impacts of Congestion Management Strategies

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Stocker, Adam
Meza, Ruth
2019

This white paper examines the social equity impacts of various congestion management strategies. The paper includes a comprehensive list of 30 congestion management strategies and a discussion of equity implications related to each strategy. The authors analyze existing literature and incorporate findings from 12 expert interviews from academic, non-governmental organization (NGO), public, and private sector respondents to strengthen results and fill gaps in understanding. The literature review applies the Spatial – Temporal – Economic – Physiological – Social (STEPS) Equity Framework (...

Public Transit and Shared Mobility COVID-19 Recovery: Policy Options and Research Needs

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Wong, Stephen, PhD
2020

While the COVID-19 crisis has devastated many public transit and shared mobility services, it has also exposed underlying issues in how these services are provided to society. As ridership drops and revenues decline, many public and private providers may respond by cutting service or reducing vehicle maintenance to save costs. As a result, those who depend on public transit and shared mobility services, particularly those without access to private automobiles, will experience further loss of their mobility. These transportation shifts will be further influenced by changing work-from-home...

Biofuel Boundaries: Estimating the Medium-Term Supply Potential of Domestic Biofuels

Jones, Andrew
O'Hare, Michael
Farrell, Alexander
2007

We estimate the physical supply potential of biofuels from domestic municipal solid waste, forestry residues, crops residues and energy crops grown on existing cropland using optimistic assumptions about near-term conversion technologies. It is technically feasible to produce a significant amount of liquid biofuel (equivalent to 30-100% of 2003 gasoline demand) without reducing domestically produced food and fiber crops or reducing the total calories available as domestic animal feed. Most of this supply can be attributed to the potential of energy crops, with the combination of municipal...

Zero-Emission Bus Implementation Guidebook for California Transit Fleets

Lipman, Timothy, PhD
Rogers, Emily, MS
2023

Transit bus operations in California are experiencing new challenges due to economic conditions and the ongoing global pandemic. A confluence of factors has created a focus on this critical public-needs serving industry, due to state and local efforts to reduce emissions of pollutants and climate-changing gases. Transit bus operations in California provide essential and additional useful services that offer critical mobility to needy populations (elderly and handicapped) as well as many other groups for whom transit buses provide the most economical, convenient, and low-emission options....

Exploring the Future of Integrated Transportation Systems in the United States from 2030 to 2050: Application of a Scenario Planning Tool

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Camel, Madonna
Lee, Kunik
2013

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) have primarily focused on systems management. To further improve connectivity and safety in the future, ITS might embrace a more holistic planning approach. While the future of ITS remains an open question, its evolution is closely linked to how the world evolves on many dimensions, social, political, economic, legal, and environmental. In this paper, the authors present results from four expert workshops. These consisted of an initial steering committee workshop (February 2011), two expert scenario-planning workshops (June 2011), and a final...