Past Webinars

MTI organizes or participates in several transportation-related webinars each year. You can find leading transportation experts at all of these webinars, making them an excellent resource for professional and research insights.

Dates	Events
December 9, 2020	Navigating TRB 2021: Getting the Most Out of the Conference - Online CSU students participated in an informal information session with Drs. Asha W. Agrawal and Hilary Nixon to learn how to make the most of their TRB experience.
December 9, 2020	Women Advancing Transportation for Our Future Mobility Needs Representation of women in the transportation workforce is stunningly low. What would happen to our mobility with more women driving transportation policies, planning, operations, and maintenance? During TRB's 6th International Conference on Women's Issues on Transportation, panelists discussed best practices for recruitment, support, and advancement of women in the transportation sector. In this webinar, conference speakers continued their discussion about workforce challenges and overcoming them; approaches to attract, retain and advance women in transportation, and how these leaders see COVID-19 changing the workforce and work environment. Featuring: Dr. Hilary Nixon, MTI Deputy Executive Director (moderator) Laurie Berman, Director (retired), California Department of Transportation Flora Castillo, President, Pivot Strategies, LLC Jodi Godfrey, Senior Research Associate, Mobility Policy Research Program & Transit Safety & Workforce Development Programs, Transportation Research, University of South Florida Debra A. Johnson, General Manager/ CEO, Regional Transportation District (Denver)
December 3, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Will Ride-hailing Enhance Mobility for Older Adults?" - San José, CA This webinar discussed the explored potential for ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber to help meet the travel needs of older Californians. Using data from a survey of almost 3,000 Californians 55 and over, researchers analyzed how many older Californians have used ride-hailing, how they booked trips, what concerns they have about ride-hailing services, and their interest in potential new options for how to book and pay for trips. View Recording. View Slides.
November 18, 2020	Effective Interpersonal "Virtual" Communications - Online The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every facet of modern day life, single-handedly altering the way we communicate and engage with our colleagues and social support networks. Though face-to-face interaction has significantly decreased, or even become nonexistent, one thing has remained clear – the link between continuous communication, a healthy workforce, and productivity. This workshop, focused on effective interpersonal communication in a virtual world, presented techniques to adjust communication style, content, and frequency to maintain a personal touch. Best practices for building and solidifying relationships using a variety of mediums (phone, chat, video, etc.) was documented and breakout rooms will be used to facilitate an interactive exchange, allowing participants to share their experience and communicate in a safe space. *This webinar was intended for our partners at Caltrans (all Caltrans employees welcome), but if you or your organization is interested in hosting a similar event, please contact irma.garcia@sjsu.edu.
November 4, 2020	Make the Connection: Next Stop Your Career - Online WTS-SF Bay Area and the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) of San Jose State University hosted "Make the Connection: Next Stop Your Career." At this event, Bay Area university students studying transportation (all disciplines) were introduced to the many wonderful professional organizations in our region, including: Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) American Planning Association (APA) American Public Works Association (APWA) Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Latinos in Transit (LiT) Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT)
October 29, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "How Prepared Is Transit for a Cyber Attack?" - Online Ransomware, data breaches, phishing incidents and other cyber threats are on the rise, including among public transit agencies. Such threats leave the transportation sector—one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose disruption would have a debilitating effect on our nation’s security—in a vulnerable position. Decision makers need to be prepared to upgrade, patch, and secure transit systems to ensure that this essential service remains safe and operational. Yet new MTI research found that only 60% of transit agencies have many of the basic policies or personnel in place to respond to a cyber incident. In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness month, MTI researchers discussed this critical research and the policy recommendations needed to understand, mitigate, and respond to cyber threats. View Recording. View Slides.
October 19, 2020	Women’s Perspectives on Transportation in Downtown San José Historically, cities have often been planned by and for white men. Studies show that women often have different needs and travel patterns, and different concerns about safety, particularly when walking, biking, and taking transit. Our panel has explored the experience of women traveling within and to downtown San José, how the current transportation options do and do not serve them, and identifed solutions to make our streets safer in order to create a transportation system that truly serves everyone. WTS for the Downtown Transportation Plan Speaker Series focused on Women’s Perspectives on Transportation in Downtown San José. These are engaging conversations with San José community leaders and thought partners that are sparking innovative thinking around the future of San Jose’s downtown transportation. Understanding how women travel in San José and in the Downtown area will be key to building a transportation system that works for everyone. This panel brought together experts in the transportation field in conversation with local community members: *Dr. Asha W. Agrawal,* Mineta Transportation Institute, San Jose State University Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, University of California at Los Angeles Marcia Cohen, San José Senior Commission Victoria Partido, San José Community Leader Lola Torney, Valley Transportation Authority
October 7, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Carpooling for Cash and Congestion-clearing" - Online Traffic congestion is a serious challenge for transportation professionals. It is also linked to negative environmental impacts, economic drawbacks, and a reduced quality of life. As successful urban areas expand, so do roads, and congestion increases. Unfortunately, no long-term solutions have been found, and many commuters are reluctant to alter their traditional driving habits in favor of carpooling. A recent case study, however, found that at $15 a day, half of people driving on a busy road would be willing to travel as passengers and another 23% would be willing to serve as drivers. Congestion-clearing Payments to Passengers looks at a long-standing bottleneck location on Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay, California and suggests a potential solution for the continuing problem of traffic congestion. View Recording. View Slides.
September 24, 2020	Surveying Silicon Valley Cyclists - Online Silicon Valley is committed to California’s goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 15% in the next three decades. To investigate local support for this initiative, MTI researchers—in collaboration with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) and the Santa Clara Department of Public Health—surveyed 1,009 Santa Clara County residents, recruited via location-based targeted advertisements, about their travel behavior and attitudes. This webinar based on the report, Surveying Silicon Valley Cycling, Travel Behavior, and Travel Attitudes, discussed survey findings on a range of transportation modes (driving, public transportation, walking, and more), with an emphasis on cycling.
September 17, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "See the USA in Your Chevrolet: The American Road Trip Reconsidered" - Online Road trips, often understood as an embodiment of American freedom, are an essential summertime activity for millions even amidst a global pandemic. New research and recent events, however, complicate the vision of the great American road trip by revealing how it has been shaped by democratic ideals, commercial interest, and nostalgia. Reexamining the road trip through a historical lens can inform the work of transportation professionals – especially in the context of the mobility revolution, social justice reform, and pandemic shutdowns. View Recording. View Slides.
August 25, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Predicting Future Highway Maintenance and Rehabilitation Costs" - Online This webinar discussed the Caltrans-funded study investigating trends in the primary pavement materials’ unit price over time and developed guidelines for selecting unit price values for future maintenance and rehabilitation in life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Researchers collected 20 years of California socio-economic data, including oil price, population, and other key variables to identify correlations with pavement materials’ unit price. Researchers predicted future values through time-series analysis (auto regressive integrated moving average: ARIMA) and used them to estimate future prices. Additionally, they collected unit price records of the primary pavement materials for the same time period and categorized them by project size. Using this data, researchers predicted future price values and then used a case study to compare the results with the prices in the current LCCA procedure. View Recording. View Slides.
August 20, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Rising to the Transportation Challenge—Students Applying STEM Solutions to Improve Transit" - Online With the Fresno State Transportation Challenge, K-8 students in the Central Valley learn about transportation while making a positive impact in their communities. This interdisciplinary program, led by Fresno State Transportation Institute founder Professor Aly Tawfik, opens up exciting paths to careers in transportation. This webinar documented the challenges and best practices for leveraging university resources to effectively engage youth. View Recording. View Slides.
July 30, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Lessons Learned From Public Transit Success in Metropolitan Areas" This research webinar covered research from Characteristics of Effective Metropolitan-Areawide Public Transit, which evaluates ten metropolitan areas in Australia, Canada, and Europe with highly effective regional transit. This research identified key traits that are correlated with high public transit usage, including: the “behind the scenes” or political and institutional characteristics; the customer-apparent transit service features; and funding and willingness to subsidize transit. View Recording. View Slides.
June 26, 2020	11th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit presents 'Paying for Transportation in California: Does COVID-19 Change Everything?' The COVID-19 pandemic threatens every aspect of transportation funding in California. State revenues from federal, state, regional, and local taxes and fees are all at risk. Since California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, the state has already faced plummeting revenues from gasoline taxes, tolls, transit fares, and sales taxes. These revenue sources will most likely continue to be severely threatened in the coming months and possibly even years. Panelists discussed the opportunities for every level of government to help recover transportation revenues in our uncertain future. Can we rely on our traditional mix of revenue sources? Will the COVID-19 crisis stimulate innovation in transportation finance? These and other revenue options were discussed at the 11th Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit. View Recording. View e-program.
June 4, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Mitigation v. Adaptation, Transportation and Land-Use Planning to Combat Climate Change" Recent extreme weather events in California—wildfires, droughts, and flooding—make abundantly clear the need to plan effective responses to both the causes and consequences of climate change. New Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) research, Harmonizing Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Transportation and Land-Use Planning in California Cities, analyzed the climate plans for 23 California cities in addition to interviewing 25 local, regional, and state officials working on climate planning. Identified transportation and land-use (TLU) strategies that both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and successfully prepare communities to be less severely impacted by climate change remains a challenge. The study assessed existing city plans and identified the potential pitfalls between mitigation and adaptation. Then, it establishes methods the state can implement to help cities effectively incorporate integrated TLU actions. View Recording. View Slides.
May 21, 2020	2020 Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Competition Much like Garrett Augstus Morgan, who, despite his humble beginnings as the son of slaves, recognized the importance of education, ideation, and entrepreneurship, we too are living in a time of great innovation. Most recently in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we’ve seen businesses adapt to ensure the safety of their employees and communities. Most significantly we’ve seen individuals and whole communities rally behind essential workers like nurses, service industry workers, and transit workers to ensure that they can continue to provide those critical services and keep all of us moving. And that is what we do in transportation: keep things moving. Regardless of this pandemic our industry is always teeming with new ideas focused on sustainability, traffic reduction, active transit, and others. And that’s where this competition comes into play by highlighting the significant creativity and innovation of these incredible students who put together projects despite the challenges associated with their schools closing as a result of COVID-19. Congratulations to the winners: In 3rd place and the winners of an official award plaque and $200 is American Indian Child Resource Center for their project ‘Day and Night,’ which looks into hybrid electric and solar charging stations for devices and double as light sources around transit stations! Congratulations! In 2nd place and the winners of an official award plaque and $300 is Aptos Middle School for their project ‘Eco Drive,’ which proposes a bioethanol powered car with CO2 absorbing components. Congratulations! Finally, in 1st place and the winners of $1,000 cash prize, a plaque, and a special recognition from our Trustees (drumroll) is California Montessori Project- Capitol Campus for their project ‘Fast. Easy. Smart: A Sustainable AV Plan for Cities,’ which proposes a system for the deployment of autonomous vehicles that meets societal needs as well as safety and environmental concerns.
May 14, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "COVID-19 & State-Generated Transportation Funds in California" The COVID-19 public health emergency drastically changed every aspect of California life, including reducing personal travel by as much as half in many regions. As a result, transportation revenues plummeted because user fees produce a large share of resources needed to operate California’s transportation system. This research used simple spreadsheet models to estimate the impact of different scenarios for economic recovery from the COVID- 19 pandemic on state-generated transportation revenues. The model covers the package of SB1 gasoline and diesel taxes, as well as two fees levied on vehicles. Panelist(s): Drs. Martin "Marty" Wachs and Asha Weinstein Agrawal with Ms. Hannah King View Recording. View Slides.
April 9, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Transit and COVID-19: How its impact differs from other emergencies" - Online COVID-19 is a contagious disease in the same family as SARS, and with similar properties to H1N1/swine flu. Yet COVID-19 caused community sheltering in place and drops in farebox revenues, and sales and gas taxes. The webinar has discussed what makes COVID-19 different and what to expect in recovery. View Recording. Additional Q&A
March 19, 2020	MTI Research Snaps Webinar: "Sexual Harassment on Public Transit: The University Student Experience" - Online Sexual harassment is, sadly, a routine experience for transit users. New MTI research explores San Jose State University (SJSU) students' experiences and perceptions related to sexual harassment and assault when using public transit. The report, Crime and Harassment on Public Transportation: A Survey of SJSU Students Set in International Context, found that twice as many women as men reported verbal and non-verbal harassment, but that both genders indicate harassment as a deterrent to using public transit. Fully 63% of SJSU students reported some form of harassment during transit journeys. The SJSU experience was then compared to findings from a global study surveying college students in 18 cities across six continents. These and other findings, as well as the researchers' recommendations,were discussed in the webinar. View Recording. View Slides.
February 25, 2020	Overview of Two New and Growing California Housing Datasets - Online The purpose of this webinar is to introduce university researchers to two new and growing datasets at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The two datasets that will be covered on the webinar are described below: • Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR): Includes information about the entire pipeline of development in each locality (i.e., development applications, approved entitlements, building permits issued and certificates of occupancy). This dataset also includes project identifiers (e.g., APNs, address), projected household income levels that will be served, and number of units in the developments. The presenter will review the new APR form (attached to this email). For more information about the Housing Element APR, please visit the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and Housing Elements webpage and click on the “Annual Progress Reports” located in the middle of the page. • Housing Element Site Inventory: The HCD is working on a more structured format to collect information from cities and counties. This format will allow cities and counties to consistently report location and projected density of parcels that are included in their Housing Element to accommodate their share of the Regional housing needs allocation. View Recording.