Just about everyone these days is connected to the world at large—thanks to technology. It’s because of that technology that our smartphones have the ability to help El Paso’s Sun Metro (the city’s public transportation service) and city planners make the best choices about new routes, additional stops, and other transit decisions that could improve system efficiency in the most cost-effective way possible. That helps cities like El Paso stretch finite resources and public tax dollars to achieve the greatest return on investment for their constituents. [Read more…] about CIITR Team Leverages Technology to Improve Bus Service Operations
El Paso
Taking Border Performance to the Next Level
In the transportation research business, we use the term “performance measurement” when we measure how a certain aspect of our transportation system is operating. For example, through crash reporting we can tell you with certainty how safe a road is operating, or, through commute times, how well traffic is flowing. Safety and mobility of a roadway are fairly easy to determine. [Read more…] about Taking Border Performance to the Next Level
Featured Research: El Paso I-10 Integrated Corridor Management
Recently, TTI’s Center for International Integrated Transportation Research helped the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization successfully compete for a federal grant to develop an integrated corridor management concept of operations (ConOps) for a 16-mile corridor of IH-10. | Read More
Making Pedestrians, Bicyclists a Priority at the Border
Like motorists, pedestrians crossing the border at all four El Paso international bridges are experiencing longer crossing times. For example, 550,000 people crossed the border by foot just in the first quarter of 2014.
[Read more…] about Making Pedestrians, Bicyclists a Priority at the Border
Thinking Outside the Box? How about a New Way to Measure the Box
By 2030, the Office of the State Demographer predicts Texas will support a population of 33.9 million. That’s up from 25.2 million in 2010—about a 35 percent increase. That means that, for every three people we have in the state today, we’ll have four tomorrow. And they’ll all be trying to use the same transportation system.
[Read more…] about Thinking Outside the Box? How about a New Way to Measure the Box
CIITR Researchers Help El Paso MPO Plan for the Future
Researchers at TTI’s Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research are helping El Paso’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) gather baseline data via a regional survey about how residents currently travel around the region. Ultimately, the information will help the MPO decide how to shape its forthcoming multimodal plan by taking into account the public’s preferences and attitudes about various travel modes, like walking and biking. | Read the MPO’s Blog on the Project
Saving Space by Sharing Space
by Alex Valdez
For years, “adding capacity” to meet the growing demands of commuters on urban roadways equated to “adding lanes.” But now, construction costs and the expenses associated with securing right-of-way to build more lanes have exceeded our ability to pay for them. “Doing more with what we have” is the goal of most traffic management agencies these days. [Read more…] about Saving Space by Sharing Space
Reducing the Domino Effect at LPOEs
Travelers at the U.S.-Mexico border are experiencing longer and longer wait times. While NAFTA has proven economically advantageous for both countries—partly by encouraging tourism and trade in border towns—one negative consequence of increased economic activity has been longer lines at land ports of entry (LPOEs). The demand to cross from one country to the other usually exceeds a port’s capacity to efficiently process that traffic. This is particularly true in highly populated, bi-national regions such as El Paso-Ciudad Juarez. [Read more…] about Reducing the Domino Effect at LPOEs
A Well-Informed Community Is a Profitable Community
by Bob Trotter
When you’re a business relying on just-in-time (JIT) inventory systems to meet consumer demand, long wait times at the U.S.-Mexico border can make the difference between profit and loss. What businesses need is a way to predict how long those waits will be so they can optimize their shipping schedules. [Read more…] about A Well-Informed Community Is a Profitable Community