Year: 2021
The pandemic drastically reduced transit ridership across the United States. In response, RSG worked with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Chicago on an innovative region-wide survey of current and lapsed transit riders. The findings have been used by RTA, its Service Boards (CTA, Metra, and Pace), and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to better understand their shifting markets throughout the pandemic and to then guide future planning and policymaking as the pandemic recedes.
On Friday, June 18 at 10:00 a.m. ET, RSG Consultant Alexander Levin will present an overview of the current and lapsed rider survey methodology and explore the key findings from the study as part of a webinar hosted by Transport Chicago. Alexander's presentation will spotlight the following:
- Findings we previously saw anecdotally but now have local survey data to confirm (e.g., who relied on transit during the pandemic).
- Findings that tell us where transit use might be going in the Chicago region (e.g., the role of telework).
- Findings that tell us what transit agencies can do to encourage a return to transit (e.g., where riders want future investment targeted).
​Transport Chicago is an annual conference dedicated to the mission of improving transportation in the Chicago region and beyond. This year's conference is entirely virtual. It will also feature Donald Shoup as keynote speaker.
Just before the pandemic, many airport operators were experiencing the effects of travelers' increased use of transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft. The popularity of TNCs meant that many airports needed to contend with both revenue changes due to decreased parking and increased congestion.
On Thursday, May 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET, RSG President Tom Adler, PhD, will share findings from RSG's research on the role of TNCs within the context of commercial ground transportation policies and programs. The webinar is sponsored by the Transportation Research Board's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) and will feature research from ACRP Report 215: Transportation Network Companies (TNCs): Impacts to Airport Revenues and Operations—Reference Guide. Tom will share practices and strategies for managing TNC on-airport operations and estimating the effects of TNC growth and pricing policies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed transportation. The initial and dramatic shift to teleworking in the spring of 2020 occurred alongside a steep initial decline in air and rail travel. Understanding the how and why underlying these changes is more important than ever.
On Thursday, April 8 at 10:00 a.m. ET, RSG Senior Director Matthew Coogan will discuss these changes and explore what they mean for the future of transportation during a webinar sponsored by the International Air Rail Organisation. He will present findings on teleworking and vehicle miles traveled from RSG's COVID-19 Transportation Insights Survey. His presentation will also include recent behavioral data collected in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
The webinar, titled “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Year on Transportation,” will also feature information on how the pandemic has affected air passenger numbers and cargo volumes.
We’re excited to moderate and present at the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) 100th Annual Meeting this month. Our presentations will cover a range of topics—from mitigating the noise impact of drone deliveries to quantifying the impacts of COVID-19 on willingness to pay for travel time savings.
The event, which covers all transportation modes, normally attracts over 13,000 transportation professionals from around the world who gather in Washington, DC. For the first time in TRB's history, however, this will be a month-long virtual event! The TRB Annual Meeting program covers all transportation modes, with sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions.