2024 Rural Transit Fact Book Published
SURCOM has published an updated edition of the Rural Transit Fact Book. This publication is intended to serve as a national resource for statistics and information on rural transit in the United States. The Fact Book includes rural demographic and travel behavior data as well as financial, operating, and fleet statistics and performance measures for agencies receiving Section 5311 funding. In addition to national level data, statistics are presented by state, FTA region, tribe, and mode, as well as other agency characteristics.
The Rural Transit Fact Book presents data from the National Transit Database (NTD) and rural demographic and travel data from the American Community Survey. The publication can be downloaded at the SURCOM website.
For more information about the Fact Book, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Webinar: Transportation Emissions and Health Equity
The Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH) will host a webinar on Thursday, October 12, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m Central. This webinar features a panel of CARTEEH consortium members sharing their research and perspectives on topics at the nexus of transportation emissions and health equity. SURCOM is a member of the CARTEEH consortium, and SURCOM researcher Jeremy Mattson will be presenting research on equitable access to rural health care.
Learn more about the event by visiting the CARTEEH website.
SURCOM Researchers Contribute to National Publication Focused on Mobility Access
SURCOM researchers Jill Hough, Jeremy Mattson, and Del Peterson were contributors to the July-August 2023 issue of TR News focusing on Transportation Accessibility. TR News features articles on innovative research development activities in all modes of transportation and is produced by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), a program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
- Hough co-authored "Addressing Transportation and Accessibility for All," the lead article that focused on innovations and their applications in settings that make transportation for people with disabilities easier or, at times, possible for everyday living.
- Peterson was co-author of "Mobility for All," which outlined gaps in collecting and interpreting data on mobility and looks at solutions that result in inclusive mobility.
- Mattson and Hough were co-authors of "Breaking Barriers to Healthy Food and Healthcare," which suggests that good nutrition and prompt healthcare may outweigh the cost of transportation services, especially in rural areas.
In addition, Hough was co-editor of the issue and worked closely with TRB editorial staff to identify articles, authors and reviewers and assemble the publication.
Hough is director of UGPTI's Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility. Mattson and Peterson are researchers in that center.
Research Report – Comparing Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains Region
A new report from SURCOM compares the level of public transportation services provided in North Dakota to those of the surrounding states of South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Greater Minnesota. Separate analyses are performed for rural and urban transit. This involves an analysis of the level of service provided, measured in terms of geographic coverage, service availability, number of vehicles in use, and vehicle hours and miles of service; the amount of service consumed, measured in terms of ridership; the level of investment from different sources; and measures that evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of service. The analysis also considers the varying levels of need throughout the region. Overall, North Dakota performs well by some measures and not as well by others, but the level of service in the state is generally comparable to what is found in surrounding states.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
SURCOM at TRB
Several SURCOM staff members will be participating in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting next week in Washington, DC. This includes presentations by Jill Hough and Jeremy Mattson on public transit agencies providing food delivery during the pandemic, grad student Mohsen Momenitabar on designing an electric transit route network, and data scientist Dilip Mistry on the Transit State of Good Repair eTool. SURCOM researchers will also have three poster presentations on emerging mobility adaptations in rural America, predictive modeling for achieving a state of good repair, and the use of crowdsourced data for evaluating bicycle infrastructure. Lastly, SURCOM director Jill Hough is chairing the Rural, Intercity Bus, and Specialized Transportation committee meeting. Below is a list of sessions and meetings in which SURCOM will be participating.
Presentations:
- Lectern Session 2028, Monday, January 9, 8:00-9:45 a.m. ET, Convention Center, 145B, Designing an Electric Transit Route Network Utilizing Energy Storage Technology to Mitigate Annual Demand Charges, Mohsen Momenitabar, Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi, Jeremy Mattson, and Jill Hough
- Lectern Session 3186, Tuesday, January 10, 3:45-5:30 p.m. ET, Convention Center, 147B, Role of Public Transportation During the COVID-19 Pandemic to Enhance Food Access by the Food Delivery Service in 2020-2021, Hamad Al Qublan, Jeremy Mattson and Jill Hough
- AP055 Committee Meeting, Wednesday, January 11, Marriott Marquis, Mint (M4), Transit State of Good Repair eTool demonstration, Dilip Mistry
Posters:
- Poster Session 2054 Monday, January 9, 8:00-9:45 a.m. ET, Convention Center, Hall A: Understanding Emerging Mobility Adaptation in Rural America, Ranjit Godavarthy and Jill Hough
- Poster Session 2166, Monday, January 9, 1:30-3:15 p.m. ET, Convention Center, Hall A, Machine Learning Predictive Model for Small Urban and Rural Transit Systems to Achieve and Maintain Public Transportation Rolling Stock in a State of Good Repair, Dilip Mistry and Jill Hough
- Poster Session 3211, Tuesday, January 10, 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET, Use of Crowdsourced Data for Evaluating the Effects of Bicycle Facilities and the Built Environment on Bicycle Use in a Small City, Jeremy Mattson, Taraneh Askarzadeh, and Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi
Committee Meetings:
AP055 Rural, Intercity Bus, and Specialized Transportation
- Full Committee Meeting, Wednesday, January 11, 8:00-Noon, Marriott Marquis, Mint (M4), Chair, Jill Hough
- Paratransit Subcommittee Meeting, Monday, January 9, 8:00-9:45 a.m. ET, Marriott Marquis, Treasury (M4), Jill Hough
- Intercity Bus Transit Subcommittee, Monday, January 9, 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET, Marriott Marquis, Treasury (M4), Jill Hough
Research Report – Effects of Bicycle Facility Characteristics and the Built Environment on Bicycle Use: Case Study of Fargo-Moorhead
A new study published by SURCOM developed a level of traffic stress (LTS) map for Fargo-Moorhead (ND-MN) and used crowdsourced bicycle use data from the fitness app Strava to show relationships between the built environment and bicycle use. The LTS map is useful for showing how friendly and encouraging areas are toward bicycle use, as well as for showing the connectivity of low-stress pathways. The bicycle ridership model shows how the development of bicycle facilities and other changes to the built environment are associated with bicycle use, as measured using crowdsourced count data. The results of the bicycle use model show that the existence of bicycle facilities is positively associated with bicycle use.
The full report, executive summary, and video summary can be found at the link below:
For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility Strategic Plan Webinar
The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) is hosting a CCAM Strategic Plan webinar on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CST. Join the webinar to learn about CCAM's recently adopted 2023-2026 CCAM Strategic Plan, resource commitments, and next steps for implementation. This webinar is intended for stakeholders interested in improving transportation coordination, including state and local government entities; national organizations and associations; and agencies that represent CCAM grantees or receive grant funding from a CCAM agency.
CCAM's Strategic Plan highlights recent work conducted by the Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility (SURCOM) regarding food delivery by transit agencies. This research was highlighted under CCAM's goal of addressing CCAM agency policies that impede transportation coordination. The research report and summary can be found at the following link: Food Access and Food Delivery Service: An Exploratory Study for the Role of Public Transportation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-2021.
To register for the webinar or for more information, visit the following link: Webinar Registration.
Research Report – Food Access and Food Delivery Service: An Exploratory Study for the Role of Public Transportation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A report published by SURCOM examines the role that public transportation played in delivering food and providing food access during the pandemic. Transit ridership decreased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many agencies started a food delivery service. This study conducted two national surveys of transit agencies to evaluate food access before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative impact of the pandemic on transit operations and service. Results indicated transit agencies are highly interested in enhancing food access by providing food delivery and are eager to support the local food system. Several transit agencies provided food delivery years before the pandemic as one of their operational services to meet certain people’s needs, and many began providing food delivery during the pandemic.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
For more information, contact Jill Hough at jill.hough@ndsu.edu or Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
New Research Projects Underway
SURCOM staff have begun a number of new research projects on topics such as food insecurity, workforce development, electric transit networks, and transit's role in improving health. Summaries and links to project descriptions are provided below.
Utilizing Public Transportation to End Food Insecurity in the Rural and Small Urban Area by Providing Better Access: A Case Study of Rural Counties in North Dakota – This study will investigate the impact of transportation accessibility on food insecurity in North Dakota. It will identify mobility gaps which affect food insecurity across the state and how improvements in public transportation can help. For more information, contact Dilip Mistry at dilip.mistry@ndsu.edu or Jill Hough at jill.hough@ndsu.edu.
Ranking Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains Region – The objective of this research is to compare the level of public transportation services provided in North Dakota to those of surrounding states. This involves an analysis of the level of service provided, the amount of service used, and measures that evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of service. The analysis also considers the varying levels of need throughout the region. For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Rural Transit Workforce Development and Succession Planning – This study will address succession planning and recruiting, developing, and retaining rural transit managers, and it will also focus on current workforce shortages, particularly the lack of drivers in many rural areas. For more information, contact Del Peterson at del.peterson@ndsu.edu.
Designing an Electric Transit Bus Network – This study examines different approaches for designing an optimal network for electric transit buses. For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Impacts of Transit on Health in Rural and Small Urban Areas – Objectives of this research are to review the literature on the health benefits of transit, describe the ways that transit can impact health in rural and small urban areas, and develop methods and data collection procedures for estimating the health benefits of transit. For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Veteran Mobility and COVID-19
A new report from SURCOM examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected veterans living in small urban and rural communities. Nearly five million veterans live in rural communities, representing 57% of Veterans Administration (VA) health care enrollees. COVID-19 cases and deaths among rural veterans have increased at a faster rate compared to veterans in urban areas according to Johns Hopkins University (2020). They also found that delayed COVID-19 testing contributed to a higher rate of cases in rural areas compared to urban areas.
The primary objective of this research was to identify veterans affected by COVID-19 who live in rural areas and have mobility needs and to quantify the cost of transportation options for meeting these needs. Secondary objectives included analyzing the role of telehealth and how the pandemic has affected mobility and isolation among veterans in rural America.
The full report, executive summary, and video summary can be found on the SURCOM website.
For more information, contact Del Peterson at del.peterson@ndsu.edu.