SWUTC Research Project Description
Developing the Urban Mobility Report and Congested Corridors Report
University: Texas A&M University
Principal Investigator:
David Schrank
Texas Transportation Institute
(979) 845-7323
Project Monitor:
Daniela Bremmer
Washington State DOT
310 Maple Park Avenue SE
Olympia, WA 98504-7300
Funding Source: State of Texas General Revenue Funds
Total Project Cost: $150,000
Project Number: 161202
Date Started: 4/1/12
Estimated Completion Date: 3/31/13
Project Summary
Project Abstract:
The Texas Transportation Institute is considered to be a national leader in providing congestion and mobility information. The Urban Mobility Report (UMR) is the most widely quoted report on urban congestion and the associated costs in the nation. The report measures system delay, wasted fuel and the annual cost of congestion in all U.S. urban areas. The Congested Corridors Report (CCR) is the first of its kind to analyze travel reliability and truck congestion across multiple corridors (328) and urban regions (54). TTI continues its partnership with INRIX—a private sector historical speed provider—to create the best possible estimation of mobility conditions for the U.S. This research will produce the 2012 version of these two invaluable reports and will help to maintain TTI’s position as THE authoritative source of mobility and congestion information.
Project Objectives:
TTI will produce the 2012 Urban Mobility Report and 2012 Congested Corridors Report. The study team will work with TTI Communications and Government Relations groups to ensure that the report is seen by the general public and important decision-makers at the local, state and national level.
Task Descriptions:
Task 1 – Match Speed Network with Updated Volume Network
The 2010 UMR was the first report produced with measured speed data utilized in the estimation of the congestion statistics. The traffic volume network utilized was the Highway Performance Monitoring System database from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This network shapefile included only the higher level functional classification roadways such as freeways and did not include as many lower functional classification roadways such as the arterial streets. Since the UMR methodology has always calculated delay on the freeway and arterial street system, it is imperative that the arterial street system be included in the traffic volume network. FHWA has finalized an updated version of their volume network so TTI will re-match the volume network with the speed network to ensure that the lower functional class roadways are well represented in the congestion statistics.
Task 2 – Produce and Communicate the 2012 UMR
The study team will produce the 2012 Urban Mobility Report which will include additional changes that have been made to the data, the mapping, the methodology and how the changes have affected the results. New information will be included for the first time on the contribution that traffic congestion makes on Greenhouse Gas emissions. New and improved information on fuel usage will be included as well. The methodology used to produce any new statistics will be documented in the appendices to the reports.
Researchers will promote, market, and work with TTI Communications and Government Relations to ensure that the report is seen by the general public and important decision-makers at the local, state, and national level.
Task 3 – Produce and Communicate the 2012 CCR
The study team will produce the 2012 Congested Corridors Report which will include additional changes that have been made to the data, the mapping, the methodology and how the changes have affected the results. New information will be included for the first time on the contribution that traffic congestion makes on Greenhouse Gas emissions. New and improved information on fuel usage will be included as well. Additionally, maps of the corridors included in the report will be displayed on the website. The methodology used to produce any new statistics will be documented in the appendices to the reports.
Researchers will promote, market, and work with TTI Communications and Government Relations to ensure that the report is seen by the general public and important decision-makers at the local, state, and national level.
Implementation of Research Outcomes:
This continuing SWUTC effort provides funding to enhance and update the Urban Mobility Report (UMR) methodology, and support the dissemination of the report. The UMR is the most widely quoted report on urban congestion and its associated costs in the nation, and serves as a resource for decision-makers across the country. The methods and measures developed and used in the UMR have been successfully implemented for policy making and prioritizing congestion-mitigating projects.
Within the first week of the 2012 report release on February 5, 2013, media coverage totaled 264 TV broadcasts clips (6,736,726 audience circulation), 1,366 print/online/radio articles (25,200,400 audience circulation) and 800,000 additional Facebook users and Twitter followers.
Impacts/Benefits of Implementation:
The 2012 UMR includes two new ways to describe the effects of traffic congestion problems. Unpredictable travel time is given its own measure in the new report, and the environmental effects are addressed with an estimate of the carbon dioxide emitted in congested conditions. The usual measures of extra travel time and fuel consumed and the costs of those elements are also included in the dataset for 101 urban areas from 1982 to 2011. UMR findings benefit and support the USDOT strategic goals of economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability by facilitating the prioritizing of transportation improvement spending to get the highest investment return for the public and reduce congestion and its subsequent environmental impact.
Web Links:
2012 UMR Report
http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/
http://mobility.tamu.edu/corridors/
Spotlight Newsletter Summary