Thanks to a successful prototype demonstration, researchers with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) contributed to the growing evidence that a roadway can indeed become one big communications system. Vehicles, the roadside and traffic management centers (TMCs) can communicate with one another, seamlessly and nearly instantaneously. The demonstration was conducted May 6–7 in Columbus, Ohio, […]
mobility
TTI’s Advanced Traffic Forecasting Helps Austin Prepare for 2035
ACCORDING to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), 180,000 vehicles per day drive I-35 between US 183 and SH 71, the 10-mile central artery for travel and commerce in Austin. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) estimates the city’s population will almost double over the next 20 years. Considering that 85 percent of current […]
Improved Data Collection for Improved Mobility
Planning Transportation planners have long been surveying motorists about where they were going and why — information vital in determining where the next road should be built or how to improve mobility. Travel-demand models based on that feedback have been used for planning the best locations for new facilities and for prioritizing roadway improvements. However, […]
Estimating Economic Impacts for Policymakers
Finance When it comes to selecting and funding transportation improvements in Texas, communities have a wide array of alternatives, with each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Frequently, vigorous debate occurs about how best to solve traffic problems. The key question is often how best to increase mobility in the most cost-effective way possible. Should […]
Improving Border-Crossing Wait Times
Trade Annually, $54 billion worth of goods moves across the U.S.-Mexico border, and wait times at each crossing regularly exceed two hours. The issues that result are being played out at all the region’s crossings — how to efficiently keep the goods flowing without compromising security, while also improving air quality. Reducing crossing and wait […]
Rider 42: “Bang for the Buck” and “Fast Planning”
Lawmakers set aside money to get the state’s highest-priority roadway projects moving…They turned to TTI to help partner agencies prioritize projects to achieve the biggest bang for the buck.
Old Modes, New Data: TTI’s Work in Bike and Pedestrian Research
Researchers have been perfecting methods for counting cars and trucks for the last half century. Comparatively speaking, there are very little biking and walking data.
TTI Investigates Intercity Passenger Rail
It’s a scene that plays out every day on America’s highways: vehicles stuck in traffic. Has the cost of congestion simply been accepted, or are there other efficient means, such as passenger rail, of getting from Point A to B?
As Traffic Jams Worsen, Commuters Allowing Extra Time for Urgent Trips
As traffic congestion continues to worsen, the time required for a given trip becomes more unpredictable, and researchers now have a way to measure that degree of unreliability, introduced for the first time as part of the annual Urban Mobility Report (UMR), published by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The Planning Time Index (PTI), […]
TTI’s AWAM Getting Deployed Worldwide
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) invention known as AWAM — which stands for Anonymous Wireless Address Matching— is a perfect example of the old saying “success is the intersection of hard work and luck.” Though AWAM might never become a household word, for those in the transportation business, it’s quickly becoming the next breakthrough […]
TTI Supports Texas Policy Makers
Public policy serves the greatest good when based on objective information. TTI research supports the legislative process by providing science-based findings to facilitate informed decisions and actions.
The I-35 Expansion Project
The Texas Department of Transportation created MY 35, a citizen-driven effort to expand a 96-mile stretch from Hillsboro to Salado of I-35, and engaged TTI to provide independent technical support for the effort.
Fighting Congestion with Technology: The New Frontier
A technological revolution is underway that has transportation leaders, government officials and even attorneys abuzz with questions and hope about what it could mean in solving a growing and costly concern — congestion.
Freight Shuttle System Promises the Next Historic Milestone in Freight Movement
Picture a system in which transporters powered by electric motors carry trailers from trucks and containers from ships on an elevated track above existing highway right-of-way, safely separated from passenger traffic.
A Blueprint for Sustainability
Sustainability — a popular, emerging concept — has become a key consideration in the delivery and operation of transportation infrastructure, and at all levels of government.
Fighting Congestion with Technology: The New Frontier
A technological revolution is underway that has transportation leaders, government officials and even attorneys abuzz with questions and hope about what it could mean in solving a growing and costly concern — congestion. Since the early 1980s, TTI has estimated congestion in hundreds of urban regions across the country. Published annually, the resulting Urban Mobility […]
Prototype Design for a Predictive Model to Improve Evacuation Operations
This summer, many Texans may root for storms in the Gulf of Mexico to find their way to Texas. While area government officials would no doubt welcome the rainfall, past experiences have taught them to be prepared.
Our Changing Rural Areas
The United States continues to face population increases and changing demographics. This trend is particularly true in Texas.
Rider 42
Traffic congestion problems in Texas are nothing new. What is new is the approach being taken by state leaders in their efforts to address them.
Mobility Study
Even though it’s not cited along with monthly job statistics, traffic congestion is a sign of economic prosperity — and it’s also a vivid reminder of how it is possible to have too much of a good thing.