Research@Transportation

Metro Boston/Massachusetts/New England

Urban Land Institute, On the Right Track (5/06): discusses challenges and opportunities facing the MBTA, and proposes steps and an investment plan towards long-term regional sustainability and improved public transportation.  States that the MBTA needs immediate debt relief to close a growing operating deficit and stabilize finances.  Supported by Northeastern University's Center for Urban Research and Planning.

Central Transportation Planning Staff, Improving Pedestrian And Bicyclist Access To Selected Transit Stations  (10/05): identifies low-cost, quick-implementation measures that can significantly improve pedestrian and bicyclist access at six locations in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system. PDF of full report.

Central Transportation Planning Staff. MBTA Title VI Report (7/05): documents the steps the MBTA has taken and will take to ensure that service is provided without excluding minority individuals and communities, without discriminating against them, and without creating additional barriers to their using the MBTA transit system. PDF of full report.

MassInc, CommonWealth Forum: End of the Line? The Future of Public Transportation (5/26/05): transcript of this discussion of public transportation, in the context of the state’s capital plan for future transit construction.

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation, A Framework for Thinking. A Plan for Action (3/05): the state’s draft long-range transportation plan, providing details of the transportation system; demographic, economic and travel trends; details of cost effectiveness, mobility, safety, security, and finance; a description of high priority “mega-projects;” next steps; and opportunities for public participation.

MassINC releases Mass.commuting.

The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization ( MPO) has released its 25-year Program for Mass Transportation.

National

Transportation Research Board, Commuting in America III: The Third National Report on Commuting Patterns and Trends (pdf) (10/06): Analyzes Census data for long-term trends in commuting patterns. Commuting patterns are becoming more varied, with distinct differences for America's largest metropolitan areas.

Smart Growth BC,  Promoting public health through Smart Growth (pdf) (3/06): reviews research on transportation-related health impacts, such as Physical Activity and Obesity and Traffic Safety.  Recommends smart-growth land use planning.

National Council on Disability,  The Current State of Transportation for People with Disabilities in the United States (6/05): assessment of public and private transportation modes, areas in need of improvement, and promising systems already in use.  

Texas Transportation Institute,  2005 Urban Mobility Study (5/05): presents data on transportation system performance including traffic congestion trends in 85 urban areas. Summary report and Boston area tables.

From the 2002 Boston Indicators Report Archive:

Federal Transit Administration and Center for Transit-Oriented Development report on high demand for housing near transit.