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161302

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:  161302

Date Started: 11/1/12

Estimated Completion Date:  10/31/13

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 2013 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 2013 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 2013 UMR
The study team will produce the 2013 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 on congestion’s contribution to emissions in these corridors 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.

Task 3 – Produce and Communicate the 2013 CCR
The study team will produce the 2013 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.

This particular summary provides a base knowledge on US congestion levels with data through 2013.

Products developed by this research include:

Presentation/Publication: Greenhouse Gas and Urban Congestion: Incorporating Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions and Associated Fuel Consumption into TTI’s Urban Mobility Report, David Schrank and Bill Eisele, Texas A&M University, presented at the 93rd TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 2014. And published in the Transportation Research Record.

Presentation/Publication: Developing a Total Peak Period Travel Time Performance Measure: An Updated Concept Paper, David Schrank and Bill Eisele, Texas A&M University, presented at the 93rd TRB Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 2014. And published in the Transportation Research Record.

Presentations: Findings and Methodologies from the Urban Mobility Report and Congested Corridors Report, David Schrank,
presented to 5th METRANS International Freight Conference, Long Beach, CA, October 2013.
presented to ITE Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, August 2013
presented to the Expedite Association of North America – Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, July, 2013.
presented to West Houston Leadership Institute, Houston, TX, July 2013.
presented to Greater Houston Partnership, Houston, TX, June 2013.
presented to Civil Engineering Graduate Transportation Seminar Class – University of Texas at Austin, April 2013.
presented to North Houston Association, Houston, TX, March 2013.

Presentation:  Incorporating Urban Area Truck Freight Value into Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Urban Mobility Report, David Schrank and Bill Eisele, Texas A&M University, presented at Session 248 of the 92nd Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting, Washington D.C., January 13-17, 2013.

Presentation:  Estimating Urban Freight Congestion Costs: Methodologies, Measures, and Applications, David Schrank and Bill Eisele, Texas A&M University, presented at Session 407 of the 92nd Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting, Washington D.C., January 13-17, 2013.

Presentation:  Measuring and Reporting Travel Time Reliability Statistics for the Most Congested Corridors in the United States: Methodology and Results, David Schrank and Bill Eisele, Texas A&M University, presented at Session 760 of the 92nd Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting, Washington D.C., January13-17 2013.

Impacts/Benefits of Implementation:
The baseline statistics produced in this report provide the state-of-congestion in urban areas of the US through 2013.  As with prior UMRs, these data are often used by policy-makers and decision-makers when discussing the scope of the US congestion problem.

Web Links:
http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/
http://mobility.tamu.edu/corridors/

Final Report