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Current Issue | Previous Issues | Subscribe March 2006 - Vol. 4 No. 3

Policy & Planning

MnPASS: Evaluating Minnesota’s congestion pricing program

In 2003, the Minnesota legislature approved a decision to implement electronic toll lanes on a heavily used section of urban freeway connecting Minneapolis to its western suburbs. The result was the MnPASS program, through which motorists can purchase in-vehicle transponders that allow them to take advantage of two reserved lanes during periods of congestion. The cost of using these lanes is variable, and changes based on demand to maintain free-flow conditions.

Since before the MnPASS lanes opened to the public, University of Minnesota researchers in the fields of public policy analysis and transportation engineering have tracked the development of the project and evaluated its effects on the Twin Cities’ transportation landscape. Lee Munnich, director of the State and Local Policy Program at the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, led a project to evaluate the impacts of the new MnPASS lanes. Their findings are now available, along with other materials and reports relevant to the program.

The University of Minnesota research team’s work focused special attention on issues of equity in the way the system is used. Much of their work has been captured in three new reports available on the I-394 MnPASS Web site. I-394 MnPASS: A new choice for commuters, released in March 2006, gives an overview of the history of congestion pricing in Minnesota, reviews the technology behind the MnPASS program, and summarizes the effects observed to date. In addition, a pair of reports released in 2005 and 2006 chronicle public attitudes toward different types of road pricing and reactions to the operation of MnPASS.

In addition to these reports, the MnPASS Web site contains presentations, documents, maps, and graphics covering many aspects of the program. The site is a valuable source of information for Minnesota residents, as well as a resource for researchers and transportation professionals interested in learning from Minnesota’s experience with congestion pricing.

Bicycling Built for Two Cities: Tools for predicting usage and benefits of urban bicycle network improvements

Rising fuel costs, long commutes, and parking shortages are among the factors that have made bicycling an attractive mode of travel for many city dwellers. Recent data suggest a slight increase in bicycling as a mode of travel for urban populations. Improving the safety and availability of cycling facilities has the potential for providing benefits to the public. However, there are few systematic, quantitative approaches for evaluating which of those improvements would produce desired results. Recent research from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs suggests ways for planners to think about the impacts of bicycle facilities, in order to maximize residents’ ability to choose bicycling as a viable transportation option.

In a recently published report sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Tools for Predicting Usage and Benefits of Urban Bicycle Network Improvements, Gary Barnes and Kevin Krizek present and summarize findings from four separate studies examining different aspects of the value of urban bike trails and other amenities.

The projects covered in this report are:

1. The Effect of Neighborhood Trails and Retail on Cycling and Walking in an Urban Environment (Kevin Krizek and Pamela J. Johnson)
   Using data from the 2000 Traveler Behavior Inventory, this study analyzed reported cycling behavior based on the distance of a person’s home from the nearest cycling facility.
2. Valuing Bicycle Facilities with an Adaptive Stated Preference Survey (Kevin Krizek, Nebiyou Tilahun, David Levinson)
   Results obtained from original data based on a survey asking people to choose between commutes of varying durations on bicycle facilities with different characteristics. The choices make it possible to deduce the value placed on each of the factors.
3. Longitudinal Approaches to Examining the Effects of Bicycling Facilities on Mode Share (Gary Barnes, Kristen Thompson, Kevin Krizek)
   This study compared bicycle commute-to-work made shares in 1990 and 2000 and related the observed changes to the locations of new commuter-oriented bicycling facilities.
4. A Survey of Residents Near Three Minneapolis-Area Bike Trails (Kevin Krizek, Gary Barnes, Kristin Thompson)
   This survey produced original data via a mail survey to residents of areas near three urban bike trails. The objective was to understand the correlation between bicycling behaviors, trail access, and various demographic and lifestyle factors.

The information gained in these studies should help planners to think quantitatively about improvements to biking facilities, especially regarding commuting behaviors, proximity to biking trails, the effect of demographics, and user preferences (off-street trails vs. on-street bike lanes).

In general, the reports support the thesis that cyclists are willing to incur additional time costs in order to use higher quality facilities. In particular, cyclists value striped bike lanes and the incremental value of this improvement is much greater than the incremental value of moving the facility off-road entirely. The presence of facilities also appears to be associated with higher amounts of riding, although the precise nature of the impact is still unclear. From this research, it appears that a facility can increase the amount of riding in an area even up to one and a half miles from the ends of the facility, but it is not clear whether the effect is larger for residents that are closer than this.

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Human factors researchers compare cell phones, alcohol in driver distraction study

Do cellular phones make drivers less safe? While there is broad support for the idea that holding a telephone conversation while driving can be distracting, the exact nature of the risk—and what to do about it—remains the subject of intense debate. The introduction in many areas of telephone-based Advanced Traveler Information Systems, which may be accessed by drivers through their cell phones, makes this issue an even more pressing safety concern. The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the University of Minnesota ITS Institute sponsored a study to investigate this issue. A team of researchers led by Nic Ward, director of the University of Minnesota’s HumanFIRST Program in human factors engineering, recently completed a study comparing the effects of talking on cellular phones with the effects of alcohol on driver performance.

The study, carried out in the safety of the VESTR immersive driving simulator, aimed to weigh cell phone use against a well-known form of driver impairment in order to better understand the similarities and differences. Participants drove through a simulated road course while performing various driving-related tasks such as maintaining a constant distance from another vehicle and operating in-vehicle controls, both without distraction and while holding a hands-free telephone conversation. In addition, half the participants drank an alcoholic beverage (under careful supervision) before driving the course.

The results of this experiment indicate that the distraction due to cellular phone use, even with hands-free equipment, can lead to impairment as significant as that from alcohol intoxication. In addition, secondary tasks such as adjusting radios or temperature controls can be just as dangerous as cellular phone use. Psychophysiological measures of driver mental workload and distraction revealed that both the use of in-vehicle controls and talking on a cellular phone could significantly reduce a driver’s ability to respond to environmental stimuli.

These results, say the report authors, remind us that secondary vehicle controls and displays can be important sources of distraction for drivers. In addition, the mental workload associated with carrying on a telephonic conversation even without having to hold a handset, can degrade driving performance. Traveler information systems that use these technologies, the authors conclude, should be carefully designed to avoid introducing dangerous distractions to the critical tasks of driving.

Driving Performance During Cell Phone Conversations and Common In-Vehicle Tasks While Sober and Drunk (Mn/DOT 2005-41) is available from the Minnesota Department of Transportation Web site.

Transportation Infrastructure

Report synthesizes pavement loading research at MnROAD

Since its opening in 1994, the MnROAD pavement research facility has carried out a variety of studies covering many different aspects of pavement performance under real-world conditions. Load Testing of Instrumented Pavement Sections, a new research report published by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, synthesizes the results of seven projects designed to evaluate the response of diverse pavement materials and construction techniques to different types of vehicular loading. The report was prepared by Erland Lukanen of the Civil Engineering department. The synthesis report covers work by a number of University of Minnesota researchers, notably former Civil Engineering faculty member Mark Snyder.

MnROAD contains 40 test cells, including both rigid and flexible designs, many of which incorporate instruments to measure pavement characteristics under load, subsurface temperature and moisture, and other relevant factors. Several types of vehicles were used to test pavements under controlled conditions, including a loaded commercial tractor-trailer, transit bus, and passenger car. Each of these, with the exception of the passenger car, was run over the instrumented pavement sections under different loading conditions.

An important part of these research projects was the comparison of the measured strains within the instrumented pavement sections to the strains predicted by various pavement models. The initial design of the research included the development of load-equivalency factors similar to those developed by the AASHTO Road Test project. Therefore, the research results should be valuable for the calibration of mechanistic-based pavement design principles.

Load Testing of Instrumented Pavement Sections (Mn/DOT 2005-47) is available on the Mn/DOT Web site.

Transit & Alternative Modes

TCRP research publications available online

The federal Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), administered by the Transportation Research Board, provides practical transit research to address technical and operational issues. TCRP emphasizes putting research results into the hands of organizations and individuals that can use them to solve problems. TRCP publications may be viewed at www4.trb.org/trb/onlinepubs.nsf/web/crp.

Recent TCRP publications include:

• Elements Needed to Create High-Ridership Transit Systems: Interim Guidebook (TCRP Web-Only Document 32)

Journal of Public Transportation

The Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2006, published by the National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida, includes these articles, available at www.nctr.usf.edu:

• Psychological Effects of and Design Preferences for Real-Time Information Displays
• Transit Network Sensitivity Analysis
• A Study of the Impact of APTS on Service Quality Perceptions of Elderly and Disabled Riders
• Improving Metropolitan Transportation Efficiency With FAST Miles
• Smart Feeder/Shuttle Bus Service: Consumer Research and Design

Upcoming Events

CTS Research Conference to highlight privacy issues

Registration has begun for the CTS Seventeenth Annual Transportation Research Conference, to be held May 24–25 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre.

The conference will begin with a plenary session titled “Privacy and Movement: New Challenges for Technology-Enhanced Transportation.” Professor Colin Bennett, a leading privacy scholar from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, will describe current and future privacy risks associated with technology-enhanced transportation systems at the individual, commercial, and societal levels.

Following his address, three local panelists will respond and share their thoughts: Ken Keller, Charles M. Denny Jr. Professor of Science, Technology, and Public Policy in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; Marthand Nookala, assistant administrator of public works with Hennepin County; and Dan Murray, vice president of research with the American Transportation Research Institute.

Privacy is also the topic of one of the first concurrent sessions. "Privacy and Movement: Balancing the Benefits and Risks," will be moderated by Lee Munnich, director of the State and Local Policy Program at the Humphrey Institute, and include three presentations:

• "Using ITS to Reduce Teenage Road Mortality: Impact on Privacy," Max Donath, director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute at CTS
• "Commercial Benefits and Risks from ITS," Dan Murray
• "Law Enforcement and ITS," Lt. Gregory Reinhardt, Minneapolis Police Department

Other concurrent sessions will touch on topics ranging from the Hiawatha LRT to a political history of the interstate highway system. A selection of projects will also be on display as posters during the morning and afternoon breaks on May 24.

The May 24 luncheon will feature Thomas DeCoster, executive director of the AASHTO Leadership Institute.

The full program is posted on the CTS Web site at www.cts.umn.edu/events/rescon. To register, contact Julie Grazier at 612-624-3044 or conferences5@cce.umn.edu, or register online at register.cce.umn.edu and enter Event ID #178179.

Events Calendar

Here are selected events related to transportation research. Visit the CTS Web site, www.cts.umn.edu/events, for more comprehensive event information. You may also subscribe to e-mail event announcements using our subscription form.

April 10, 2006
James L. Oberstar Forum on Transportation Policy and Technology. 12:30–4:30 p.m. in the Great Hall, Coffman Memorial Union, U of M Minneapolis Campus. Contact Shirley Mueffelman, 612-624-4754 or conferences2@cce.umn.edu. [More]

April 17, 2006
Information Session: Graduate Certificate in Transportation Studies. 6-7 p.m. at 215 Humphrey Institute, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. [More]

May 24, 2006
CTS Spring Luncheon with Thomas DeCoster, Saint Paul RiverCentre. Contact Julie Grazier, 612-624-3044, conferences5@cce.umn.edu. [More]

May 24-25, 2006
17th Annual CTS Transportation Research Conference, Saint Paul RiverCentre. Contact Julie Grazier, 612-624-3044, conferences5@cce.umn.edu. [More]