Transportation Research Board 2020 Annual Report (2021)

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6 TRB • 2020 Annual Report Covering Timely and Persistent Issues By conducting, sharing, and promoting research, TRB creates and expands access to knowledge related to current and future issues in transportation. This research is particularly focused on innovative and implementable practices and technologies. TRB has issued an urgent and directed call for research needs statements specific to transportation and pandemics.4 At the same time, TRB continues to administer research into the day-to-day issues facing transportation, including concrete, facility design, and signals. TRB’s most downloaded publications in 2020 show the country’s focus on future improvements to transportation service levels and on the environment. Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report 209: Analysis of Recent Public Transit Ridership Trends shows that, even before COVID-19, transit ridership was down across all modes except for commuter rail and demand-responsive services.5 Bus ridership is at its lowest point overall since the 1970s. The report details 10 case studies to better understand individual strategies used by transit agencies to mitigate ridership losses and increase ridership overall. GOAL 2 Research I hope to make an impact on intelligent transportation and smart infrastructure through the internet of things and data analytics. The emerging 5G technology will transform transportation worldwide. The transformation will take a collective endeavor, and TRB has a variety of standing committees that help me make that impact. Hongtao Dang, Assistant Professor, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington

TRB • 2020 Annual Report 7 Vehicle electrification is among the technologies under consideration to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants, mobile source air toxics, and greenhouse gases (GHGs) from motor vehicles. Readers were interested in the results of TRB’s research on this topic: • National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web- Only Document 274: Zero-Emission Vehicles—Forecasting Fleet Scenarios and Their Emissions Implications analyzes scenarios of infrastructure development, policy changes, and cost parameters to assess their impact on nationwide zero emission vehicle adoption and the corresponding levels of exhaust emissions.6 • TCRP Research Report 219: Guidebook for Deploying Zero-Emission Transit Buses provides transit agencies with information on current best practices for zero-emission bus deployments, as well as lessons learned from previous deployments, industry experts, and industry resources.7 Extreme weather events and a changing climate increase costs paid by taxpayers. State DOTs are accounting for climate resilience when making infrastructure decisions. NCHRP Research Report 938: Incorporating the Costs and Benefits of Adaptation Measures in Preparation for Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change— Guidebook can help fill the gaps in time-consuming and expensive analyses.8 MOST DOWNLOADED CRP Reports Published in 2020 In 2020, CRP produced more than 140 publications. 1. Guidance to Improve Pedestrian and Bicyclists Safety at Intersections 2. Guidebook for Managing Data from Emerging Technologies for Transportation 3. Analysis of Recent Public Transit Ridership Trends 4. Incorporating the Costs and Benefits of Adaptation Measures in Preparation for Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change: Guidebook 5. Minutes Matter: A Bus Transit Service Reliability Guidebook 6. Bicyclist Facility Preferences and Effects on Increasing Bicycle Trips 7. Equity Analysis in Regional Transportation Planning Processes, Volume 1: Guide 8. Traffic Forecasting Accuracy Assessment Research 9. Guidebook for Deploying Zero-Emission Transit Buses 10. Alternative Intersection Design and Selection Data as of November 2020