August '24 Newsletter

By joining this free, national STEAM-focused competition, you can empower 6th-8th graders to build their college and career portfolios and hone problem-solving skills as they compete to win prizes!

MTI has sponsored a competition every year since 2003 and over 1,300 students have participated. This competition is open to middle school classes, clubs, after-school programs, and any other youth-serving organizations in the United States.

To learn more about the competition and how your middle school team can win up to $1,000 for your organization and an all-expenses-paid trip to San José, CA to attend the MTI awards banquet, sign up for the virtual Information Night on September 25, 2024 at 6:00p.m. (PT). The first 20 team leads who register will receive a $500 honorarium at the conclusion of the competition. We also provide a digital teacher’s guide at no cost for easy classroom lesson integration and $100 to help with project expenses.

We are now accepting applications for teams to compete! Adult team leads are invited to register here. Please join us as we explore solutions that will inspire your community to Get Going, Go Green, and fund a sustainable, safe, and efficient transportation future for all.

Development of the Roadway Pothole Management Program

Addressing the issue of potholes is a primary concern for maintaining urban infrastructure. A California State University Transportation Consortium research team at CSU Chico has developed a prototype pothole management program. The program includes a mobile application and two machine learning models. The mobile app enables users to upload images of potholes, report relevant information, and provide driving directions to the pothole location. With the help of this application, the user can seamlessly capture images of the potholes, record pertinent information, and submit the data for necessary action. The mobile application is an essential tool in the Pothole Management Program (PMP), as it enhances the program's efficiency, effectiveness, and user experience. The program utilizes two machine learning models. The first model, Visual Geometry Group (VGG16), uses deep learning neural network technology to classify potholes with over 90% accuracy. The second machine learning model, You Only Look Once (YOLO), has been designed to detect and accurately mark potholes on submitted photos. Overall, this innovative pothole management program offers a comprehensive solution to help address the critical issue of potholes in urban areas.

Visit the Apple Store to download the iPhone App for Pothole Management.

Moving Towards the Electrification of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles in the Inland Empire

The Inland Empire in Southern California, comprising San Bernardino and Riverside counties, is known for its extensive transportation and warehousing industries—but these industries can bring environmental challenges due to the high concentration of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MDHDVs), which contribute significantly to air pollution and greenhouse gas emission. New MTI research, Moving Toward the Electrification of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles in the Inland Empire, provides a blueprint for planning the transition of MDHDVs in the Inland Empire to zero-emission, considering factors such as infrastructure development, technological advancements, economic impacts, and social equity to ensure a sustainable and inclusive transformation. Recommendations include adopting dynamic, adaptable policies, providing targeted financial incentives, standardizing charging technologies, and ensuring equitable benefits distribution. 

Climate change creates new challenges for all critical transportation infrastructure, especially for railroads with an open system that is continuously exposed to the elements. A Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) is a necessary first step for an organization to understand the challenges and develop strategies for adaptation to them. In many cases the railroad sector is uniquely positioned to also reduce greenhouse gas emissions through mitigation steps. This guide will assist railroad risk managers and emergency managers to evaluate the risks and determine how best to respond to them through preparation, mitigation, or adaptation. The THIRA is the first step in understanding the scope of the climate change challenges faced by railroads.
 

Public transit agencies function best when the diversity of their workforce represents the communities they serve—yet research finds mismatched representation, with fewer women and people of color in leadership positions and an overconcentration of men and people of color in operational roles. This Research Snaps is based on the MTI report Understanding Workforce Diversity in the Transit Industry: Establishing a Baseline of Diversity Demographics. The report authors will share the latest data on racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the U.S. transit workforce. They will also dive into promising practices to help transit agencies attract and retain staff who reflect and embrace the vibrant diversity of their communities. Don’t miss our event Who Works in Transit? Establishing a Baseline of Transit Workforce Diversity.

Presenters:

• Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Research Associate & Education Director, MTI
• Evelyn Blumenberg, PhD, Professor; Director, Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies in the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA
• Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, PhD, Distinguished Professor; Interim Dean, Luskin School of Public Affairs and Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA

The 7th International Conference on Women and Gender in Transportation (WGiT) will be held September 9-11, 2024 at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. The conference theme is Progress and Possibilities: Bridging Perspectives. It highlights how far recognition of gendered issues in transport have come, while also noting the important work ahead to bridge inequities. This will work require spanning disciplines, departments, scales, and organizations.

Across the globe, crucial gender differences exist in people's mobility needs, access to transport, experiences while mobile (e.g., safety and security), and workplace advancement. Gender biases also exist in infrastructure provision and service delivery. These differences limit the access of women and other gender minorities (transgender, non-binary, third-gender, etc.) to economic opportunities, healthcare, employment, information, and education. Uneven transport experiences also intersect across other social factors, such as race, age, class, immigration status, and (dis)ability. These uneven experiences limit social cohesion.

Since 1978, the conference (formerly known as the International Conference on Women's Issues in Transportation) has served as a forum to highlight how gender considerations can be incorporated into the traditionally male-dominated transport sector. In 2024, participants and speakers of all genders will represent transportation practitioners, researchers, educators, consultants, businesses, advocacy groups and other stakeholders from around the world. Local, tribal, state, and national government agencies will also be represented.

The 2024 “Research to Practice” Transit Symposium will take place October 22-24, 2024, and will be streamed on YouTube. As the transit industry is poised to take advantage of the largest transit and rail investment in our lifetimes, the symposium provides a platform where transit experts share insights on how evidence-based research is being or can be, used to make the most of these opportunities in a changing environment. This year’s symposium will focus on the following topics:

• Transit leaders’ perspectives on the future of transit
• Practical applications of transit data
• Transit fare policy
• Transit equity
• Women in transit
• Transit infrastructure costs
• Transit research implementation

AICP credits are available for this event.