WRI Ross Center at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 97th Annual Meeting

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) 97^th Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. on January 7 -11. The program covers all modes of transportation, with more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops. WRI is an active TRB participant, each year presenting numerous papers and presiding workshops and committees, and has won two prestigious Burggraf Awards in recent years.

A highlight of the annual meeting is the presentation of the Sustainable Transport Award (STA), this year on January 9^th. The STA Award recognizes cities with profound leadership and vision for transformative change in sustainable transport. This year, the recipient city is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – the first African city to win the prestigious award for its transformative developments in public transit, particularly the implementation of the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (DART) system and the city’s commitment to walking and cycling. Moscow, Russia will receive honorable mention. (To attend the awards ceremony, please register here).

Below, we summarize WRI’s involvement in this year’s TRB Annual Meeting:

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Smart Cities, Public Transportation, and Seamless Modal Transfers in Developing Countries

Sunday 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Convention Center 154, Workshop 106

V. Setty Pendakur, Pacific Policy and Planning Associates; Dario Hidalgo, WRI

Many cities in Asia and Latin America are expanding and investing in public transportation systems, but there is a disconnect between various modes. Additionally, the safety and convenience of pedestrians and cyclists are a low priority. This workshop focuses on planning, financing, and institutional challenges in Asian and Latin American public transportation systems.

Bikeshare System in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, and Its Connectivity with the City’s BRT

Sunday 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Convention Center 154, Workshop 106

Amit Bhatt, WRI

Presentation: Smart Cities, Public Transportation, and Seamless Modal Transfers in Developing Countries

Bhopal, India, has created India’s first automated public bike sharing system, complete with two dedicated bike lanes as part of a wider bicycle network. The system has seen a rapid increase in use, even at an early stage. The presentation will highlight the challenges faced during implementation and the current performance of the system.

Monday, January 8, 2018

The Political Economy of Road Safety: A Case Study of Bogotá

Monday 1:30 PM – 3:15 PM, Convention Center, Hall E

C. Erik Vergel-Tovar, Universidad del Rosario; Anna Sharpin, WRI; Daniel Harris, Overseas Development Institute; Dario Hidalgo, WRI

Poster Session 382: Public Transport, Safety and Management, E-bikes and Bikesharing, and Nonmotorized Transportation in Developing Countries

Bogota is well-known for Transmilenio, its bus rapid transit (BRT) system, but few studies have examined its impact on road safety in combination with other policies and programs. This paper examines the influence of BRT investments on road safety and identifies factors that explain the significant reduction in traffic fatalities over time.

Public Transport, BRT and Innovations

Monday 3:45 PM – 5:30 PM, Marriott Marquis, Supreme Court (M4)

Dario Hidalgo, WRI (presiding)

This year’s meeting includes the following presentations:

• Joanna Moody (Lee Schipper Scholar from MIT): “Car pride and attitudes toward sustainable transportation”
• Rafael Pereira (Lee Schipper Scholar from Oxford-IPEA): “Impact of transport investments for Rio de Janeiro Olypmpics on existing inequalities in public access to economic opportunities”
• Lynn Patrica Scholl (IADB): “Urban transport and gender: examining barriers to access and travel patterns in Cochabamba, Bolivia”
• Nicolás Estupiñán (CAF): “Ella se mueve segura" Gender Equity research and practice – Data Utility in Buenos Aires, Argentina”
• Ramón Múñoz-Raskin and Georges Darido (World Bank): “Urban Rail Guidebook – Preview”
• Xiangyi Li (WRI): “Barriers and Opportunities for Electrification of Bus Fleets”
• Christo Venter (University of Pretoria): “Trajectories of BRT implementation in South Africa: Towards lighter, more integrated systems”
• Michael Kodransky (ITDP): “New research from ITDP”

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Sustainable Transport Award Ceremony 2018 (please click the link to RSVP)

Tuesday 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Walter E. Washington Convention Center

801 Mount Vernon Place Northwest Ballroom C, Washington, D.C. 20001

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Bus Aggregators: Good for Society and Good for the Environment? Evidence from India's National Capital Region

Wednesday 8:00 AM – 9:45 AM, Convention Center, Hall E

Jyot Chadha, WRI; Ojas Shetty, WRI; Rajagopalan Srikanth Shastry, WRI

Poster Session 784: Mobility on Demand

Bus aggregators in India frequently face issues with regulators and public transit agencies. This study evaluates Shuttl, a bus-aggregator operating in the Delhi-NCR region, to evaluate the environmental impact of Shuttl and commuters' perception of its service.

E-Bikes and Bikesharing in China

Wednesday 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM, Convention Center, 150B

Dario Hidalgo, WRI; Samuel Zimmerman, World Bank (presiding)

Lectern Session 796

This session covers the invasion behavior of e-bikes, free-floating bike sharing, and analysis of conventional and e-bike sharing in China.

Hailed or Ridesourced? A Descriptive Study of Four Indian Cities

Wednesday 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM, Conventional Center, Hall E

Felipe Lozano Landinez, Newport News Virginia; Rajagopalan Srikanth Shastry, WRI

Poster Session 855: The Sharing Economy: Emerging Examples from Around the Globe

This study presents a first-of-its kind survey-based analysis of the dynamic shared mobility landscape in India. The study analyzes the users of shared modes (specifically hailed and ride-sourced services), how and why they choose their mode, and how shared mobility varies across cities.