ITS Berkeley

Wildfire Evacuation Planning Can Be Greatly Enhanced by Considering Fire Progression, Communication Systems, and Other Dynamic Factors

Soga, Kenichi, PhD
Comfort, Louise, PhD
Zhao, Bingyu, PhD
Lorusso, Paola, MSc
Soysal, sena
2021

Wildfires have become a perpetual crisis for communities across California. For life-threatening wildfires, mass evacuation often becomes the only viable option to protect lives. Yet, looking back at recent events, including the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, there are significant challenges associated with the evacuation process, such as multi-agency coordination, agency-resident communication, and management of extraordinarily high amounts of traffic within a short period of time. Currently, emergency planners use evacuation models that are typically based on existing...

Are our Transit Systems Ready for Earthquakes?

Soga, Kenichi, PhD
Comfort, Louise, PhD
Zhao, Bingyu, PhD
Tang, Yili (Kelly), PhD
Han, Tianyu
2024

Located on the tectonic boundary with multiple active faults, the San Francisco Bay Area is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated a 72% probability of an earthquakewith a magnitude of 6.7 or greater striking the region within the next 30 years. Historical seismic events have demonstrated the profound impact earthquakes can have on transportation systems. During the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the closure of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a critical transit route for San Francisco commuters, left nearly 400,000 commuters and...

Low-Income Suburban Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area Face Significant Housing and Transportation Issues

Pan, Alexandra
Deakin, Elizabeth, PhD
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2024

Growing poverty in America’s suburbs challenges their image as single-family residential communities for middle class, predominantly white families. Research shows that suburban areas now have the largest share of households under the poverty line. Since these areas have lower density development and lower levels of public transit service compared to urban areas, living in the suburbs may pose accessibility challenges for low-income households, particularly those without a personal vehicle. To explore housing and transportation issues associated with the suburbanization of poverty, we...

Defining Sensitive Communities Under SB 50

Hocberg, Simon
2019

In this brief, we analyze the coverage of the definition of “sensitive communities” that was included in the March 2019 revisions to the SB 50 bill language – we call this the “SB 50 Sensitive Communities” definition. We also present analysis of two alternative metrics –California SB 535’s definition of “Disadvantaged Communities” and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Racially/Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty” (R/ECAPs) –as comparison points. We present these comparisons as a way to discuss how different definitions influence which places would be designated...

Hydrogen Can Have a Much Lower Carbon Intensity than Fossil Fuels But This Largely Depends on How It Is Produced and Distributed

Lipman, Timothy, PhD
Horvath, Arpad, PhD
Collins, Stephanie
Kendall, Allisa, PhD
Fulton, Lewis, PhD
Busch, Pablo
2022

As interest in hydrogen as an energy carrier has increased, the various ways that hydrogen is made are being categorized as “green,” “blue,” “gray,” and other colors in relation to their environmental impact. While these categorizations are somewhat useful to indicate the environmental and climate change impacts of different production pathways, they are not especially useful for policy making or industry decisionmaking purposes because they are subjective. For example, most definitions of green pathways for hydrogen production only include electrolysis from renewable electricity sources;...

Mobility Challenges Facing Older Adults: A Contra Costa County Case Study

Ragland, David R.
McMillan, Tracy
Doggett, Sarah
2019

Meeting the mobility needs of an aging population is one of the most substantial challenges facing California in the coming decades. The number of residents age 60 and above will grow to 13.9 million by 2050, representing over 25% of the state’s population. Meanwhile, the number of residents age 85 and above is expected to increase by over 70% between 2010 and 2030. Many older adults, who have primarily been auto dependent, will reduce or stop driving due to medical and non-medical reasons. Declines in age-related physical functions may also reduce the ability to walk to access goods and...

Congestion Pricing Can Be Equitable If a Portion of the Revenue is Returned to Drivers

Sallee, James, PhD
Tarduno, Matthew, PhD
2003

Economists have long argued in favor of congestion pricing, under which drivers pay a fee or toll to enter roadways during peak times. An increasing number of global cities have adopted or are considering pricing programs. Even so, these regimes remain relatively rare and controversial. One key concern with congestion pricing is fairness. Road pricing can pose a substantial burden for low-income drivers, many of whom have little option to avoid travel during peak times and limited opportunity to choose other modes of travel. Prior research has shown that congestion pricing regimes tend to...

How Well Are Newly Sited K-12 Schools Incorporating Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Measures?

Vincent, Jeffrey M., PhD
Maves, Sydney
Thomson, Amy
2022

In response to California law (SB 743, Chapter No. 386, Statutes of 2013), school districts are encouraged to use vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as criteria when evaluating the transportation impacts of new school construction, and identify feasible mitigation measures that eliminate or substantially reduce VMT generated by the new construction. To better understand the implications of this new law on school siting decisions, researchers at UC Berkeley analyzed 301 new schools constructed between 2008 and 2018 with respect to four VMT mitigation measures identified by the Governor’s Office...

The Expansion of California’s Freeway Service Patrol Program is Delivering Benefits to Motorists and the Environment

Mauch, Michael
Skabardonis, Alexander
McKeever, Benjamin
2019

The Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) program has the goal of reducing congestion by using fleets of roving tow and service trucks to quickly clear disabled vehicles and address other minor accidents on California’s freeway. The FSP program is jointly managed by Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and regional transportation agencies. Approximately $21.25 million in State transportation funds are provided each year to eligible regional transportation agencies for the FSP program using a formula-based allocation. The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1) directs an...

Insights on Autonomous Vehicle Policy from Early Adopter Cities and Regions

Chatman, Daniel G., PhD
Moran, Marcel E.
2019

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are being widely tested and piloted to carry passengers and freight. However, the potential uses and impacts of AVs in communities are uncertain. There are claims that AVs may be able to improve road safety, make travel more convenient, lower shipping costs, and reduce the need for automobile parking. But there are also concerns that AVs may increase road congestion, reduce transit ridership, compete for curb space, and even increase urban sprawl. To better understanding how cities and regions are currently engaging with and planning for AVs, twenty interviews...