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:

Comparing Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains Region

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