Vermont Statewide Travel Demand Model - A Preliminary Evaluation

The University of Vermont Transportation Research Center, working with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, is conducting an evaluation of the existing statewide travel demand model to identify potential improvements and refinements to the model based on planning practices and needs. The model\u2019s current software platform, Cube/Voyager, is also explored, with a comparison to two other widely used modeling software packages. The evaluation also includes a literature review of statewide travel demand modeling practices in other states, including general model structure, uses, and model operation and maintenance, as well as a discussion of emerging trends in travel demand modeling

Transportation Workforce Development at Community Colleges

DRFH61-080G-00007.Community college participation and endorsement will be integral to the success of a National Transportation Workforce Development Strategy. The University of Vermont Transportation Research Center (TRC) analyzed the results of a survey conducted with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) that sought to quantify existing community colleges\u2019 programs, infrastructure and partnerships preparing students for careers in transportation. Building upon data from this survey, the TRC has analyzed what transportation training exists at community colleges today and how that curriculum is supported by both investments in specialized equipment and through strategic partnerships. As detailed in this report: 1) The majority of schools reported having programs that develop skills relevant to the transportation sector, especially general skills (finance, technologies, operations and maintenance) that are transferrable to non-transportation industries; 2) Where schools are planning to expand or initiate transportation curriculum, it is primarily in technical areas, such as engineering, where the skills may extend to sectors other than transportation; 3) Similarly, where schools indicated having specialized equipment, most of the investment was for tools that could be leveraged beyond transportation studies, and few schools reported owning or having access to transportation-specific equipment, such as training ships, rail cars, or airplane fuselages; and 4) The majority of schools reported having strategic partnerships with other schools; federal, state, and municipal government entities; and private companies \u2013 supporting their transportation-related efforts. Collectively, these data suggest that there is a solid foundation within community colleges to deliver transportation-related training, but that additional investment and coordination likely will be necessary to support future workforce needs. To that end, this report lays out both best practices for community colleges looking to increase their transportation programs and recommendations for how the U.S. Department of Transportation can best stimulate and support the evolution of community colleges as a key pillar in the transportation workforce development infrastructure

Analysis of Address-Based Employment and Demographic Data Sources For Travel Modeling and Transportation Planning

Marketing support firms compile consumer and business data to provide business-to-business and business-to-consumer products. These firms sell the most up-to-date data to companies for marketing campaigns, through mailing, emailing, and other solicitations to potential customers. Two of the largest and most established providers of this type of data for the private sector, InfoGroup and Dun & Bradstreet, offer address-based employment and consumer (demographic) data to transportation planning agencies, which can supplement traditional sources of employment and demographic data like the U.S Census and the Quarterly Census of Employment from a state Department of Labor. These new data sources offer significant opportunities for travel modeling and transport analysis for the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for the following types of analyses: Economic growth/impacts modeling and calculation; Disaggregate travel modeling calibration and validation; Accessibility calculations; and Vulnerable populations identification. However, the fact that there are only two known providers for this type of high-resolution data and that they do not have a long history of supporting transportation agencies presents some risk for the Agency. The goal of this project was to reduce that risk by assessing samples of the data and gathering information on its uses from the experience of others. The purpose of this project was to obtain samples of the data being offered from both vendors, to conduct an evaluation of its quality and accuracy for travel modeling and transportation analysis, and to solicit other users in the travel/transport modeling community for experiences with this type of data

Modeling the Emissions of Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles on Interstate 89/189 and US Route 7 in the Burlington Area [from cover]

This study compares the modeled exhaust emissions for heavy-duty diesel vehicles of various weights traveling two different bi-directional routes through the Burlington, Vermont, area. The two routes are I- 89/I-189, between the junction at US-7 and Exit 16 in Colchester, and US-7, between the same two locations. Currently, heavy vehicles exceeding 80,000 pounds are prohibited from traveling on the analyzed section of interstate highway without permit due to federal regulations, and instead travel through the Burlington area along the designated US-7 truck route. For the analysis, real-world velocity, acceleration, and roadway grade data are used to model the pollutant emissions using the Comprehensive Modal Emissions Model to ascertain the differences in emissions, if any, between the interstate and US-7 routes. Results indicated that overall emissions inventories and per-mile emission rate were lower by up to about 50% for the I-89/I-189 routes compared to the US-7 routes. However, emissions of NOx were very similar between the counterpart routes, and in one case, the southbound interstate\u2019s NOx emissions were greater than US-7, by approximately 2-6% depending on vehicle weight. Lastly, there would be an overall savings in diesel fuel use up to approximately one gallon per truck traveling on I-89/I-189 compared to US-7

Intercity Travel for Metropolitan Access in Northern New England

USDOT Grant 69A3551747114This project builds on the prior work of Dr. Brian H. Y. Lee and Sean Neely, who focused on travel behavior between non-metropolitan areas and large metropolitan centers, because of its impacts on quality of life, multimodal planning, and rural economies. This project studies travel from home locations in northern New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, excluding the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metropolitan Statistical Area), going to Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Data were collected in The Intercity Travel, Information, and Technology Survey Questionnaire conducted by Resource Systems Group (RSG Inc.) in May 2014. A total of 2560 valid survey responses were collected using a paid panel purchased by the consultant. Neely previously developed generic mode choice models for these intercity trips but lacked the mode-specific travel times and access measures for more advanced mode choice models. The goal of this current project was to perform more advanced spatial data re-tabulation to generate new mode-specific predictor variables, especially measures of air access using Federal Aviation Administration datasets. The internet access measures were also refined and alternative measures of a zip code location\u2019s ruralness were generated. Zip code home location was used for generation of on-road travel times and distances to destination as well as an Amtrak station access measure. In addition to the data development, some specific research questions were pursued with the data: (1) How many trips per year do rural residents take in the Northeast United States to major metropolitan areas? And (2) What socio-economic, location, and accessibility variables are associated with rural trip generation to metropolitan areas

Vermont Travel Model 2015-2016

This report was prepared under the \u201cImprovement and Operation of the Vermont Travel Model\u201d contract with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for the 2015-2016 year (Year 8) of the contract. The primary objective of the project is to continue maintaining the Vermont Travel Model, ensuring that it remains a comprehensive, effective predictor of travel behavior of Vermonters. The purpose of this report is to document the activities which were completed in Year 8 of the contract to improve the functionality and currency of the Model. Other activities undertaken in Year 8 of the contract using the Model to support VTrans efforts, particularly analyzing the effects of construction traffic controls on regional flows, are documented separately. The Vermont Travel Model is a series of computer sub-models which uses the land use and activity patterns within Vermont and its neighboring urban areas to estimate a typical day of travel behavior. Origin and destination matrices are created which describe the number of expected trips between geographical areas, known as traffic analysis zones (TAZs). Accommodations are made for commercial-truck trips and the occupancy characteristics of passenger vehicles. The final outputs are traffic volumes by roadway link in the statewide roadway network. The Model currently includes 946 TAZs and 5,600 miles of highway-network links

Vermont Travel Model, 2013-2014

This report was prepared under the \u201cImprovement and Operation of the Vermont Travel Model\u201d contract with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for the 2013-2014 year (Year 6) of the contract. The primary objective of the project is to continue maintaining the Vermont Travel Model, ensuring that it remains a comprehensive, effective predictor of travel behavior of Vermonters. The purpose of this report is to document the activities which were completed in the 2013-2014 (Year 6) year of the contract. Other support activities undertaken in Year 6 of the contract using the Model to support VTrans efforts are documented separately. The Vermont Travel Model is a series of spatial computer models which uses the land use and activity patterns within Vermont to estimate the travel behavior of Vermonters. Origin and destination tables are created which describe the number of expected trips between zones. Accommodations are made for commercial-truck trips and the occupancy characteristics of passenger vehicles. The final outputs are traffic volumes by roadway link in the state-wide roadway network. The Model currently includes 939 traffic analysis zones (TAZs) and 5,327 miles of highway-network links. This report contains a description of the Vermont Travel Model, including its history and its current functional capabilities, a description of the data used in this Year, a description of the methods used to process data for use in improving the Model and the results of the update, and a summary of the results of this year\u2019s improvements with recommendations for Year 7

Regional Microscopic Simulation Model for Studying Traffic Control Strategies at Work Zone

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) undertook a major repaving/reconstruction project over a six-mile segment of northbound lanes of Interstate 89 (I-89) in the summer of 2008. In this study, VTrans contracted with the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont (UVM) to use a UVM developed regional microscopic traffic simulation model to evaluate the impacts of the various work zone traffic control strategies. In this report the authors present a traffic impact analysis of the work zone on interstate I-89 modeled using a PARAMICS based micro-simulation model. Additionally, the authors analyze the traffic characteristics (traffic counts and speed) observed during construction and compare it with the before-construction and model predicted traffic characteristics

Who Do We Miss by Moving Travel Surveys Online? Assessments From Vermont

Online travel surveys are increasingly common because of cost, user burden, and geocoding advantages. Consequently, it is important to ask how online survey samples compare to paper survey samples. This study compares paper and online responses to a 2016, state-wide, Vermont transportation planning survey. Internet and smartphone access were analyzed by socioeconomic characteristics as well as by residential location to assess rural coverage. Respondents\u2019 selection of the paper option was linked to lower population density. Online respondents showed significant spatial clustering. Crucially, the travel behavior and transportation attitudes of paper and online respondents differed even after weighting for demographic attributes. Smartphone ownership in Vermont is too skewed by age to be a primary travel survey method. Internet access is more widespread but does exclude some population segments. We recommend consideration of respondents by geographic location as well as socioeconomic characteristics when selecting survey mode and weighting, especially for state-wide surveys