The Transit Impacts Research Program (TIRP) studies the contributions of transit to mobility, economic development and job access, equity and opportunity, public well-being and safety, and sustainability. The program aims to provide information to optimize transportation investments, regional connectivity, and system effectiveness.
The program was launched in 2006 to study the impacts of investments in Twin Cities transitways. In 2023, the program's scope was expanded to include analysis of the overall transit system, including potential projects throughout Minnesota.
Active Research
- Value of Dedicated Right-of-Way: Transit Service Reliability and User Impacts
Principal Investigator: Ying Song - Transfer Behavior and Off-Peak Commutes
Principal Investigator: Alireza Khani
Recently Completed Research
- The Values of Dedicated Right of Way to Transit Ridership and Carbon Emissions
Principal Investigator: Jason Cao
Examines the value of dedicated right-of-way in increasing transit ridership and reducing carbon emissions, offering insights for the Twin Cities and similar regions. - Assessing the Effects of Highway Improvements on Adjacent Businesses (2023)
Principal Investigator: Yingling Fan
Analyzes how state-funded highway improvement projects in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area affected businesses in adjacent Census tracts. - Transitway Development and Commercial Gentrification (2022)
Principal Investigator: Yingling Fan
Investigates the effects of transitway development between 2000 and 2019 on businesses along transit corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan region, specifically, commercial gentrification along the Blue Line, the Green Line, and the A Line. - Addressing Accessibility and Equity along Transitways (Design) (2021)
Principal Investigator: Thomas Fisher
Presents a mixed-methods toolkit for use in community engagement as part of transitway planning and design. This is Part 2 of a two-part study. - Addressing Accessibility and Equity Along Transitways: Toward a Mixed Methods Toolkit - Part 1 (2021)
Principal Investigator: Andrew Owen
Presents the results of a transit accessibility analysis for the B, D, E, Gold, and Rush Line transitways in the Twin Cities and evaluates census block level access to grocery stores, healthcare facilities, and high schools. - The Impact of Transitways on Travel on Parallel and Adjacent Roads and Park-and-ride Facilities (2021)
Principal Investigator: Alireza Khani
Investigates two research questions; 1) how many vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are influenced as a result of transitway projects in their impact zones, and 2) what factors affect the utility of park-and-ride facilities for commute trips in the Twin Cities region? - Value of Transitways to Regional Economies: National and Twin Cities Perspectives (2020)
Principal Investigator: Yingling Fan
Analyzes how investment in fixed-guideway transit affects regional GDP growth, job growth, household income, and inequality, and compares the Twin Cities region to two regions with higher and lower levels of transitway development.