Current Projects

The TRC’s current research portfolio covers a wide range of transportation topics while focusing on sustainability and equity. Our research is made possible with funding from federal, state and local governments, NGOs, and private gifts.

Current Project Areas

Sustainable Rural Communities 

Transit van passing through a Vermont rural community

Project Preview:
Uncovering Barriers to Low-Carbon Travel to Strengthen Transportation Infrastructure in Rural Communities

This project fills a critical gap in knowledge about rural travel behavior by creating a novel spatially detailed panel dataset. The dataset tracks changes in travel behavior over time, supporting an analysis of peoples’ responses to changes in transportation and land use systems. This research will help small and rural communities achieve deep reductions in GHG emissions by providing insights into how to leverage transportation infrastructure investments, technology, and policies to reduce GHGs while supporting economic vitality, mobility, and equity. More about Sustainable Rural Communities.

Principal Investigators: Dana Rowangould, Gregory Rowangould, and Elizabeth Doran
Project Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Additional projects like Sustainable Rural Communities

Energy, Emissions, and the Environment

Car traffic with heavy exhaust

Project Preview:
National Assessment of Near Roadway Vehicle Traffic Emissions Exposure Risk

We conduct a national scale study to evaluate exposure risk to air pollution from on-road vehicle traffic in every community. The project identifies exposure risk to emissions from different types of vehicle traffic, including passenger vehicles and trucks, and evaluates how exposure risk varies with the socioeconomic composition of communities. More about Energy, Emissions, and the Environment.

Principal Investigator: Gregory Rowangould
Project Sponsor: Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

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Alternative and Multi-Modal Transportation

Bus riders in Chittenden County. Photo: Vermont Public

Project Preview:
Evaluating Transit Use in the Post-Pandemic Era

This project will evaluate the reasons that public transit riders return (or do not return) to transit in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has decimated public transit use across the US. As automobile travel has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, transit ridership has remained substantially reduced. This project uses a survey that follows up with current and former transit users who were surveyed in the Fall of 2020 about their transit use. The follow-up survey and analysis will evaluate factors that contribute to a return to transit with an emphasis on policy-relevant insights. The results of this work will be useful for transit agencies and policymakers seeking to plan for and expand future transit use in the post-pandemic era. More about Alternative and Multi-Modal Transportation.

Principal Investigators: Parsa Pezeshknejad and Dana Rowangould
Project Sponsor: National Center for Sustainable Transportation

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Equity and Travel Behavior

Vermont transit rider is assisted off the bus

Project Preview:
Evaluating Support for Mileage-Based User Fees in Diverse Communities and the Value of Providing Contextual Information 

Mileage-based user fees (MBUFs) have been promoted as a more efficient alternative to gasoline excise taxes for over a decade. MBUFs are also seen as increasingly necessary to maintain highway funding programs as electric vehicle adoption increases and to mitigate GHG emissions by enabling congestion charging. Despite the many benefits of MBUFs, public support is deeply lacking. Some research suggests that raising the gas tax has more support than implementing an MBUF. Concerns over privacy, user costs, equity, and disincentivizing the use of more efficient and electric vehicles are often cited. Several recent studies suggest that education about the purpose and implementation of MBUF programs can significantly increase support. This study aims to first evaluate support for various MBUF programs in a diverse range of community types, including small and rural communities that have not been the focus of prior research. The research team thinks the greater automobile dependence and differences in attitudes and beliefs in smaller and rural communities impact MBUF support. Then, the team will evaluate how providing individualized and place-based contextual information about the impacts of MBUF programs modifies support. The researchers aim to identify opportunities to increase support in different community contexts through more effective public awareness campaigns. More about Equity and Travel Behavior.

Principal Investigators: Gregory Rowangould and Clare Nelson
Project Sponsor: National Center for Sustainable Transportation

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Safety, Infrastructure, and Maintenance 

Speed countermeasures installed at a crosswalk

Project Preview:
Traffic Safety Toolbox - Addressing Speeds

Reducing vehicle speeds is an important strategy for reducing the risk and severity of collisions and ensuring the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, especially in transition zones, where rural highways with higher posted speeds (typically 50 mph) enter a village or town center. This Traffic Safety Toolbox (“Toolbox”) of speeding countermeasures is intended for use by Vermont towns with posted speeds that are not widely adhered to by drivers, whether in a transition zone entering a village or town center (roads with speed limits of 35 mph and above and functional classifications of 3 or 4), or within the community itself (roads and streets with speed limits below 35 mph and functional classifications of 5 or higher). More about Safety, Infrastructure, and Maintenance.

Principal Investigators: Dana Rowangould and James Sullivan
Project Sponsor: Vermont Agency of TransportationAdditional projects like Safety, Infrastructure, and Maintenance