Appendix B: Potential Transit Research Topics

Safety

1. Safety culture and training
2. Safety incident reporting
3. Engineering and testing of vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure
4. Applications of safety management systems to public transportation

State of Good Repair

1. Asset management
2. Performance metrics
3. Transit infrastructure data collection and analysis
4. Transit maintenance - best and new practices
5. Engineering of vehicles and equipment
6. Impacts of system reliability on ridership
7. Capital maintenance funding balance and relationship to service levels

Economic Competitiveness

1. Workforce development and training/human resources
2. Transit and job creation
3. Transit system operations and service planning - best and new practices
4. Transit system management, administration, and finance
5. Transit and economic development/value capture
6. Service availability levels and impacts on public benefits and ridership levels
7. Operations and funding issues

Livable Communities

1. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)
2. Bike/pedestrian research — first mile, last mile
3. Rural/tribal/parks/paratransit research
4. Affordable housing and transit
5. Transit access, social equity, and mobility
6. Transit and High Speed Rail (HSR) interconnectivity

Environmental Sustainability

1. Land use planning
2. Climate change mitigation and adaptation
3. Metropolitan planning
4. Alternative energy and transit.