Has Growth in Automobile Use Ended?

For almost 40 years, auto usage, as measured by vehicle miles traveled (VMT), closely tracked real gross domestic product. VMT dropped during the most recent recession, and it still hasn't recovered.

U.S. DOT's SBIR Program Seeks Innovative Proposals

The U.S. DOT's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, administered by Volpe released the second fiscal year 2013 solicitation, inviting small businesses to submit research proposals that address specific research challenges facing the Department's operating administrations.

U.S. DOT's Volpe Center and MassDOT Partner to Create First-Ever Carbon-Neutral Airport

U.S. DOT Volpe Center and the Massachusetts DOT are working together to create the first-ever carbon-neutral airport at Nantucket Memorial Airport. If successful, the result could mean a significant positive impact on the environment, as the program could serve as a template for other airports...

Resiliency Requires a Shift to Planned Redundancy

Volpe hosted "Beyond Bouncing Back: A Roundtable on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Resilience" to explore resiliency in the context of challenges facing the nation's transportation system.

Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative

Volpe's Unique Simulator Revolutionizes Breathalyzer Evaluation

Volpe's Ed Conde, Art Flores, and Alan Kauffman spend their days testing blood alcohol detection devices to identify the highest caliber products for federal, state, and local law enforcement and transportation personnel. 

A New Silk Road for the 21st Century

The 4,000-mile transcontinental trade route known as the Silk Road established connectivity between China and Western Europe beginning in 206 BC, according to Akhmed Baitassov, a Hubert H. Humphrey fellow with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Trucks in Towns: Urban Freight Congestion

Transportation experts are revisiting the problems of freight movement in cities. It is a growing challenge, as the world becomes more urbanized, and growing urban populations demand more deliveries to their own doors. This shifts truck traffic away from centralized destinations, such as stores...

The Walkability Challenge: Measuring the Impact of Health and Environment

Do people who live in more densely populated areas get more physical activity than those who live in sprawling neighborhoods? Is walkability a solution to a number of health problems, both physical and mental? How do you measure the benefits? These relationships are extremely complex, said Dr....

Vehicle-to-Vehicle Pilot Test to Determine Safety Benefits

According to the official blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, FastLane, connected vehicle technology could prevent or reduce the severity of up to 80 percent of all crashes involving non-impaired drivers.