News
06.12.2020
RSG launches national panel survey for insights into travel behavior changes caused by COVID-19
As communities begin to open back up, we wanted to learn how the pandemic will shape the ânew normal.â So, we launched the COVID-19 Transportation Insights Panelâsurveying thousands on their teleworking habits, travel plans, and comfort levels around daily activities. Itâs no surprise that COVID-19 will have lasting effects in all these areas, but it isnât all what you might expect. Check out some of our surprising initial insights in our first Insight on the panel – RSGâs National Panel Survey Offers Insights Into Travel Behavior Changes Caused by COVID-19. Agencies interested in participating or those interested in data specific to their region can learn more about the survey on our COVID-19 Transportation Insights Panel page.
05.13.2020
RSG Director to speak on VPRâs Vermont Edition
After his article and recent presentation on the subject, RSG Director Jonathan Slason was invited by Vermont Public Radio (VPR) to join their conversation on telecommuting and working from home after the pandemic. Is remote work here to stay? If it does, what impact will it have on traffic patterns?Â
Tune in to Vermont Edition today (May 13) around 1:20 p.m. to hear more.
05.02.2020
New White Paper Published: Forecasting Tools in a Time of Disruption and Uncertainty
Evaluating complex systems to forecast future conditions has never been simple, but disruptive technological changes and outside shocks to the system (like the COVID-19 pandemic) have further challenged practitioners. Strategic models can help. Â
Strategic models occupy a unique niche and can flexibly and quickly run hundreds of scenarios, making them ideal for exploring uncertainty in the planning process. These models offer practitioners at state, regional, or local levels capabilities that are normally inaccessible or only possible with significant effort, investment, and expertise.Â
Want to learn more? Check out our latest white paper on how strategic models excel as a stand-alone tool or as a complement to other types of modeling.Â
Forecasting Tools in a Time of Uncertainty and Disruption »
04.10.2020
RSG Director to present Facebook Live on Sustainable Transportation Vermont
As an unprecedented amount of people across the country have transitioned to short-term telecommuting, many folks are now left wondering if remote work may be here to stay. Did this simply fuel the adoption of an inevitable change?
Today at 12PM ET Sustainable Transportation Vermontâs (@stvermont) will host a Facebook Live event with RSG Director Jon Slason. He will share the latest research on trends in telecommuting, discuss if it is here to stay, and, if so, how it will impact our transportation system.
04.02.2020
A note from our CEO on COVID-19
Like many of our clients and collaborators, ensuring the well-being of our employees and the continuity of our business operations during the COVID-19 health crisis has been RSGâs top priority over the last month.
On March 13, we set into motion plans to transition to a fully remote workforce to comply with emerging state-mandated stay-at-home orders for nonessential businesses. Weâre fortunate to have access to the talented people and technologies required to make the transition to remote work as seamless as possible for our employees and our clients.
At RSG, weâve always felt it was our responsibility to proactively make a positive and significant impact on our clients and communities. Right now, fulfilling our responsibility means staying put to âflatten the curveâ and stop community spread of COVID-19.
But this note isnât about us. Every day, millions of Americans now wake up to routines disrupted, trips canceled, and workplaces shuttered. For many of these people, the future has never felt so uncertain. In just the last few weeks, Iâve read COVID-19 news stories contemplating the rise in remote work, the renewed importance of drone deliveries, and the popularity of telemedicine. If even a small percentage of these changes stick after COVID-19, our world may look quite different soon.
Unsurprisingly, many of our clients are now asking themselves what the ânext normalâ will look like and how soon it will arrive. I find these questions reassuring because they remind us that what weâre collectively enduring is only temporary. During these temporary challenges, RSG remains as committed as ever to collecting robust data and delivering actionable insights. Understanding behaviors in a complex system has never been an easy undertaking, but COVID-19 further raises the stakes and challenges us to think big.
As the nation continues to fight this battle against COVID-19, weâre seeing unprecedented actions taken by federal and state agencies. Americans are coming together in response.
As always, RSGers will continue to come together, even while working at a distance. As a small, employee-owned company focused on the success of our clients, we truly are in this together.
If you have any questions, or just want to learn more about how weâre thinking about some of the changes brought about by COVID-19, please reach out. Weâre just a phone call or email away.
Stay safe and be well,
Stephen Lawe
CEO
03.27.2020
RSG-authored article on wind turbine audibility selected as JASA âTechnical Area Pickâ
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) selected an RSG-authored paper as the âTechnical Area Pickâ in the noise category. The paper, titled âWind turbine audibility and noise annoyance in a national U.S. survey: Individual perception and influencing factorsâ was co-authored by RSGâs Ryan Haac, Ken Kaliski, and Matthew Landis. It was part of a multi-disciplinary research effort to evaluate the factors that affect outdoor audibility and noise annoyance of wind turbines.
Interestingly, they found that wind turbine sound level was the most robust predictor of audibility yet only a weak, albeit significant, predictor of noise annoyance. Consistent with international findings, they found that communities in the US are less tolerant of wind turbine noise than other common environmental noise sources.
JASAâs Technical Area Pick honors the best paper published in each category from the last year. As a selected article, access is free through the end of May. Read it in full at https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.5121309.
02.26.2020
RSG CEO to share âBehavioral Data: State of the Practiceâ
RSG CEO Stephen Lawe is presenting at the Joint Florida Model Task Force & Transportation Data and Analytics Workshop today. The workshop brings together transportation modeling professionals from across the state to discuss statewide modeling standards and model enhancements. Stephenâs presentation, titled âBehavioral Data: State of the Practice,â will cover his perspective on the historical and future evolution of travel behavioral data and its implications. Â
02.14.2020
RSG Director presents on drone delivery reducing carbon emissions
RSGâs Erica Wygonik recently led a presentation to the Miami-Dade Freight Transportation Advisory Committee (FTAC). She shared takeaways from work that RSG has done on how drone delivery can reduce carbon emissions.
Maybe in a few years your Valentineâs Day flowers will be delivered by dronesâŠ
http://www.miamidadetpo.org/freight-transportation-advisory-committee.as
01.17.2020
RSG Sr. Director co-authors award-winning paper
On Monday, the Transportation Research Board (TRB)âs Transportation-Related Noise and Vibration Committee honored a paper co-authored by RSG Sr. Director Ken Kaliski and AECOMâs Roger Wayson with the Harter Rupert Award. The paper, titled âAcoustic Modeling of Meteorological Effects on Roadway Noise,â shares how to account for meteorological impacts when modeling road traffic noise levels. The award honors TRBâs best paper on transportation noise.
Learn more on the TRB Transportation Noise & Vibration Committee »
01.08.2020
Jay Evans joins RSG as VP of Operations
We are pleased to welcome Jay Evans as Vice President of Operations at RSG. Jay brings over 25 years of experience in consulting and successfully building teams and delivering results across distributed, highly matrixed organizations. His addition to RSG will enhance the delivery of projects through supportive business operations and investments in RSG staff. For more information on Jay, check out his profile at https://rsginc.com/team/jay-evans/.
12.16.2019
Three RSGers published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
RSGâs Ryan Haac, Ken Kaliski, and Matthew Landis were published in a recent issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Their paper, part of a multi-disciplinary research effort led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, evaluates the factors that affect outdoor audibility and noise annoyance of wind turbines.
Interestingly, they found that wind turbine sound level was the most robust predictor of audibility yet only a weak, albeit significant, predictor of noise annoyance. Consistent with international findings, they found that communities in the US are less tolerant of wind turbine noise than other common environmental noise sources.
© 2019 Acoustical Society of America. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the Acoustical Society of America.
The following article appeared in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (Vol.146, No.2) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5121309.
12.11.2019
RSG Sr. Director Presents at Annual State Park Managers Meeting
RSG Senior Director Steve Lawson was asked to present recently at the New Hampshire State Park Managers Meeting in Pembroke, NH. His presentation shared the framework for managing visitor use and capacities at parks and how to apply this information to address issues like overcrowding, resource impacts, and risk management within public lands. The meeting, held annually in New Hampshire, draws in park managers, park directors, and district supervisors from across the state.
Learn more about our work on public lands in our latest summary report for the National Park Service and Department of the Interior.
10.14.2019
RSG Sr. Director Published in Kathmandu Press on Sustainable Tourism
While on a U.S. Department of State-sponsored trip to Nepal, RSGâs parks and protected lands expert Steve Lawson was interviewed by Annapurna FM Radio and Kathmandu Press. He, along with Penn State Universityâs Peter Newman, explained that while âbuilding infrastructure is important for tourism promotion⊠Nepal needs to do it responsibly taking into consideration its fragile ecosystem, and possible impacts of overtourism on local communities, culture and the environment.â
Kathmandu Press - In Sustainable Tourism, Number is Not the True Measure of Success »
09.25.2019
RSG Sr. Director Presenting in Nepal on Trip Sponsored by US State Department
RSG Sr. Director Steve Lawson is in Nepal this week, sponsored by the US State Department. In addition to presenting at three Nepali universities, he is meeting with officials from several government agencies and commercial tourism and trekking enterprises â including Nepalâs Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation; Tourism Board; and Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation â to discuss sustainable tourism and visitor use management, including visitor use, crowding, and safety on Mt. Everest.
09.19.2019
RSG Director Presents Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Seminar on Drone Use for Freight
Yesterday, RSG Director Erica Wygonik presented at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) September âTalking Freightâ seminar on drones. She provided an overview of the relative strengths and weaknesses of delivery drones as a freight transportation mode compared to other long-established or emerging freight transport methods.
FHWA hosts the ‘Talking Freight' seminars as part of a broader program aimed at providing technical assistance, training, tools, and information to help the freight and planning workforce meet the transportation challenges of tomorrow.