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AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas at Austin is leading a new multi-university transportation research center that will focus on developing travel behaviors based on technological advances and ongoing work practices.
The Center for Understanding Future Travel Behavior and Demand at UT Austin conducts what it calls the “Transportation Heartbeat of America Survey” to collect longitudinal data on changes in travel patterns from people, institutions and businesses. The goal is to emphasize a people-centered approach to mobility analysis to ensure safe, reliable, equitable, and sustainable travel in surface transportation systems.
“Earlier, we could predict future demand fairly well based on demographic/economic indicators and travel patterns, but travel behavior is evolving now, which cannot be predicted in time,” said Chandra Bhatt, director and former director of the new hub. Transportation Research Center at UT Austin. “We need to measure and track the evolution of activity-travel patterns so that we can better design for the future. To do this, we have assembled an expert team of pioneering travel behavior researchers from across the country to significantly advance the knowledge base and operational policies and travel behavior analysis and demand planning.”
The $40 million center, led by UT Austin, with a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and matching funds, includes seven other universities as coalition members: Arizona State University, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, City College of New York, Deane College (Navajo Nation); Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan and University of Washington.
In addition to research, the Center contributes to developing the next generation of transportation leaders through student-centered research and experiential learning opportunities involving industry, academia, and public agency partners.
“This project exemplifies UT researchers’ human-centered approach to understanding societal needs in a changing world,” said Dan Jaffe, vice president for research, scholarship and innovation efforts. “We are already providing real-world solutions to serious challenges in the transportation space. The insights we and our partners can provide are valuable to industry, society and public agencies, and our efforts to achieve world-class research expertise at UT Austin to make the mobility of people and goods safer and more secure.” It’s equal for everyone.”
The first major effort is to develop a travel behavior data hub that brings together multiple existing travel data sources to create a one-stop-shop for insights into current patterns. The second pillar, the Heartbeat Survey, follows a diverse group of individuals and families across the country over several years to first-hand understand how their travel preferences are changing.
The researchers also surveyed service providers and employers to track trends in business-offered transportation benefits, work-from-home patterns, and e-commerce and delivery platforms to reach customers. The project also covers the movement of goods to create a comprehensive picture of travel behavior across sectors and groups. Traditionally, freight and passenger travel analytics have been siloed, and the team is looking to break down those walls to create more reliable travel forecasts.
The center is one of five National University Transportation Centers established with a $435 million grant from the US Department of Transportation. UT Austin’s new center will be the only one nationally dedicated to improving the movement of people and goods.
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