Policy

The Effects of Transportation Corridor Features on Driver and Pedestrian Behavior and on Community Economic Vitality: Final Study Report

Sanders, Rebecca L. PhD
Griffin, Ashleigh MS, MCP
MacLeod, Kara E. MHP
Cooper, Jill F. MSW
Ragland, David R. PhD, MPH
2012

This report presents the results from a multiyear effort to develop and test performance measures for evaluating the impact of landscaping and roadside features on pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility and economic vitality for Caltrans’ urban arterial network. The first phase of the study was a literature review, and the second phase focused on developing performance measures. The third and fourth phases focused on testing the proposed performance measures consisting of an infrastructure analysis, policy review, safety analysis and a pedestrian and bicyclist intercept survey on two...

Limitations of Data on Cell Phone Involvement in Collisions: A Case Study of California

Griswold, Julia B.
Grembek, Offer
2014

With the increasing prevalence of mobile technology and high-profile crashes bringing attention to distracted driving, data on cell phone involvement in collisions is critical for understanding the extent of the problem, examining the effectiveness of policies, and developing interventions to improve safety. Some limitations of existing data have been previously identified, but this paper examines the specific case of California’s collision data. Temporal, geographic, and jurisdictional trends are analyzed to identify the source and type of inconsistencies in the cell phone involvement...

Safety and Other Impacts of Vehicle Impound Enforcement

Cooper, Douglas
Chira-Chavala, T.
Gillen, David
2002

California vehicle impound law took affect on January 1, 1995. The law allows a police officer to seize a vehicle operated by a person whose license is suspended or revoked or who has never been issued a license. The seized vehicle shall then be impounded for 30 days. In California, a driver must be stopped for some other infraction before his/her license can be checked. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the impact of Upland's vehicle impound program on traffic safety (crashes and on-the-road behavior) and police department resources and operations.

Evaluating the Public Perception of a Feebate Policy in California through the Estimation and Cross-Validation of an Ordinal Regression Model

Martin, Elliot, PhD
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Lipman, Timothy
Camel, Madonna
2014

Understanding the roots of policy perception can be critical for informing the design and implementation of innovative public policies; Feebates is one such innovative policy and in the context of new vehicles can be designed to offer buyers a rebate for the purchase of low-emission vehicles and a fee for the purchase of high-emission vehicles; Because feebates is a policy that directly impacts the consumer, understanding the dynamics of public perception, support, and opposition is important; This study explores the public perception of a feebate policy within California and evaluates the...

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...

Innovative Mobility: Carsharing Outlook Carsharing Market Overview, Analysis, And Trends.

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Cohen, Adam
2020

Since 1998, 94 carsharing programs have been deployed in North America - 40 are operational and 52 are defunct. As of January 1, 2018, there were 18 active programs in Canada, 21 in the United States (U.S.), and one program in Mexico. In North America, carsharing membership totaled approximately 2,110,111 members sharing 23,376 vehicles. The three largest carsharing operators in the U.S. and Canada accounted for 91% and 86% of the total membership, respectively. Only one operator provided service in Mexico as of January 2018.

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...

A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard for California Part 1: Technical Analysis

Farrell, Alexander E.
Sperling, Daniel
Arons, S.M.
Brandt, A.R.
Delucchi, M.A.
Eggert, A.
Farrell, A.E.
Haya, B.K.
Hughes, J.
Jenkins, B.M.
Jones, A.D.
Kammen, D.M.
Kaffka, S.R.
Knittel, C.R.
Lemoine, D.M.
Martin, E.W.
Melaina, M.W.
Ogden, J.M.
Plevin, R.J.
Sperling, D.
Turner, B.T.
Williams, R.B.
Yang, C.
2007

Executive Order S-1-07, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) (January 18, 2007), calls for a reduction of at least 10 percent in the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuels by 2020. It instructed the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate activities between the University of California, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and other state agencies to develop and propose a draft compliance schedule to meet the 2020 Target. This report is the first of two by the University of California in response. This first study assesses the low-carbon...

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....

California Transportation Plan 2050: Northern and Southern California Visioning Sessions Findings

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Totte, Hannah
Cohen, Adam
2018

Improving California’s transportation system requires cross-sector collaboration, particularly as technologies, policies, and regulations develop simultaneously. The California Transportation Plan (CTP) 2050 aims to integrate perspectives from a diverse array of stakeholder that may not typically participate in the statewide planning process. The Visioning Sessions were conducted in two day-long visioning workshops in October 2018 in Southern and Northern California. Overall, these visioning sessions initiated a much-needed dialogue among experts and practitioners from diverse backgrounds...