COI Spotlight - Multimodal Systems Research and Analysis
Our nation's transportation system is a complex network of several major modes – including aviation, maritime, inland waterways, road, rail and transit – that are interconnected both physically and electronically in a manner that expedites the efficient and effective movement of people and goods over both short and very long distances. This system, in turn, comprises a significant segment within the larger global transportation system that makes possible our modern standard of living. This global system is the focus of this month's spotlight on the Center of Innovation (COI) for Multimodal Systems Research and Analysis. The COI specializes on analyzing the multimodal nature of our national and global transportation systems and recommending improvements to capacity, safety, security, environmental consequences, operations, economic efficiency and intermodal capabilities of these vital services.
The COI's staff of economists, operations research analysts, policy analysts, transportation planners and related specialists applies their varied talents and skills to support a wide variety of projects for a core of major sponsors. These include the Research and Innovative Technology Administration's Joint Planning Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems (RITA/ITS/JPO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Their projects range from implementing new ITS technologies and improving transit service in center cities to selecting appropriate vehicles for use within remote wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
The COI works closely with other Volpe Center units, particularly the COIs for Advanced Vehicle and Information Network Systems and Safety Management Systems.
A key theme running throughout the COI's portfolio is helping sponsors to comprehend their transportation operations within a much wider geographic and topical context. By understanding both their technical disciplines as well as the key transportation issues and the operations of transportation systems, the COI staff provides expert analysis and advice to their sponsors on the interrelationship of the various transportation- related factors with each other, such as operations, performance, energy and emissions characteristics, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefits tradeoffs, the potential impacts of policy changes, and useful "best practices" from other transportation and nontransportation activities. The COI staff can also help sponsors understand how their transportation-related operations interact with other transportation systems to which they are linked, as well as other non-transportation activities. These insights assist sponsors in seeing the "bigger picture" of their operations and how they fit within the wider context.
IntelliDrive ITS Program concept schematic of cars at intersection. (Volpe Center Image)
Among the COI's major current and recent activities are the following:
- Developing a methodology for Amtrak to determine the true fully allocated costs of its train routes and related business activities, to assist them in making more effective business decisions;
- Conducting cost-benefit analyses of trucking and hazardous materials regulations for FMCSA;
- Studying various transportation options for use within such sensitive Federally-managed lands as national forests, wildlife preserves, and national parks and historic sites for the U.S. Department of the Interior;
- Assisting metropolitan and regional planning councils to include reduced greenhouse gas emissions targets in their future planning documents and processes in a manner that is consistent with these agencies' other responsibilities for FHWA and FTA;
- Developing and managing a professional capacity building program for FHWA and FTA that offers information, technical assistance, tools and training to local and state transportation employees to improve their skills, and their successful integration of new technologies into their systems;
- Analyzing congestion reduction alternatives such as congestion pricing and new technology initiatives for the ITS JPO; and
- Managing and improving the FHWA Highway Economic Requirements System model, which covers a wide range of topics such as congestion pricing, emissions, fuel consumption, crash frequency, pavement deterioration, and economic impacts.