Rodríguez Additional Abstracts

Rodríguez, D. (2004) Spatial choices and excess commuting: A case study of bank tellers in
Bogotá, Colombia, Journal of Transport Geography, 12:1, 49-61.

This study uses disaggregate data from Bogotá, Colombia to examine the presumption that individuals
engaging in excess commuting have satisfactorily traded commuting for other location benefits. By
estimating involuntary and voluntary excess commuting, the study illustrates that deviations from the
minimum commute implied by the urban spatial structure are expected due to temporal and structural
constraints, even when the journey to work is a household’s only locational concern. Therefore, the
usefulness of excess commuting estimates for informing policy choices hinging on the connection
between transportation and land use would increase if the voluntary and involuntary components of
excess commuting were incorporated explicitly into the calculations. Results suggest that future
excess commuting research should devote additional attention to contextual factors constraining
individuals’ spatial choices.

Rodríguez, D. and Joo, J. (2004) The relationship between non-motorized travel behavior
and the local physical environment, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and
Environment, 9:2, 151-173.

By estimating multinomial choice models, this paper examines the relationship between travel mode
choice and attributes of the local physical environment such as topography, sidewalk availability,
residential density, and the presence of walking and cycling paths. Data for student and staff
commuters to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are used to illustrate the relationship
between mode choice and the objectively measured environmental attributes, while accounting for
typical modal characteristics such as travel time, access time, and out-of-pocket cost. Results
suggest that jointly the four attributes of the local physical environment make significant marginal
contributions to explaining travel mode choice. In particular, the estimates reveal that local topography
and sidewalk availability are significantly associated with the attractiveness of non-motorized modes.
Point elasticities are provided and recommendations given regarding the importance of incorporating
non-motorized modes into local transportation planning and in the study of how the built environment
influences travel behavior.

Rodríguez, D., Rocha, M. Khattak, A., and M. Belzer. (2003). Effects of Truck Driver Wages
and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study. Transportation Research Record
1883, 95-102.

The role that human capital and occupational factors play in influencing driver safety outcomes has
gained increased attention from trucking firms and policy-makers. This paper examines the role of
these factors, in addition to demographic factors, in influencing the crash frequency of truck drivers.
A unique driver-level dataset from a large truckload firm collected over a period of 26 months is used
for estimating regression models of crash counts. Based on estimates from a zero-inflated Poisson
regression model, results suggest that human capital and occupational factors, such as pay, tenure
at the job, and percent of miles driven during winter months, have a significantly better explanatory
power of crash frequency than demographic factors. Taking into account both the zero-inflation and
the count model, results suggest that higher pay rates and experiencing a pay increase are related to
lower expected crash counts and to a higher probability of having no crashes, all else held equal.
Although the data for the study come from a single firm, the evidence provided is a first step in
examining the structural causes of unsafe driving behavior, such as driver compensation. These
results can motivate other firms in modifying operations and driver hiring practices. They also support
the need for a broader examination of the relationship between driver compensation and driver safety.

Rodríguez, D. (2002) Examining individuals' desire for a shorter commute: The case of
proximate commuting, Environment and Planning B, 29, 867-881.

Much of the theoretical and empirical debate about transport and land use planning has focused upon
the strength and vitality of the connection between the two. Studies increasingly find that this
connection is weakening and thus prescribe that attempts to address urban transport problems with
land use policies are ineffective. This paper introduces proximate commuting, a novel employer-based
program that decreases urban commuting by providing marginal accessibility improvements to its
participants. Using a case study involving a commercial bank in the Western Detroit Metropolitan
Area, the paper examines individuals’ motivations for participating in a proximate commuting program.
Results show that 25 percent of bank tellers surveyed state that they are willing to take advantage of
this accessibility-improving program. Estimation of a discrete choice model reveals that gender;
expected improvements in accessibility; and better job-related prospects are three key factors
explaining individuals’ stated willingness to proximate commute. To the extent that these results hold
more generally, they underscore the usefulness of interventions that rely on marginal improvements of
home-to-work accessibility. Furthermore, the case illustrates an innovative approach for addressing
transport challenges that is politically palatable and enhances individual choices.

Rodríguez, D. and A. Ardila. (2002) An Empirical Exploration of Bus Travel Times and Dwell
Times in a Highly Competitive Exclusive Busway, Journal of Public Transportation, 5:1, 39-60.

Busway transit has re-emerged as a cost-effective transportation alternative for providing urban
mobility. This paper examines the operational consequences of an exclusive busway system with
high passenger ridership and subject to the competitive forces of individual operators. Results suggest
that the increase in running time associated with an additional passenger movement is low but that the
delay imposed by recurrent vehicle deceleration and acceleration related to frequent stops is high.
Frequent vehicle stops reduce fuel efficiency, increase pollution, reduce travel time, and decrease
productivity. Results of several specifications of dwell time regression models indicate that
established models tend to yield biased coefficients for boarding and alighting passenger movements.
These model results also confirm that the dwell time delay associated to an additional passenger
movement is very low in Bogotá’s busway even though average dwell time per passenger tends to be
high. It follows, therefore, that organizing passenger boarding and alighting operations and
consolidating passenger activity points promise to be effective strategies for improving operations.
More broadly, we find that under a deregulated operating environment a regulatory framework that
includes monitoring operations and enforcing designated stop locations remains important for
busways’ operating efficiency.

Rodríguez, D. (2001) Proximate Commuting, Hype or Potential? Transportation Research
Record 1675, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C.,
35-42.

"Proximate commuting" is a potential employer-based travel demand management (TDM) program
under which large, decentralized employers reassign voluntary participants to job locations (with the
same employer) closer to the worker's residence in order to reduce commuting distances. Key to
determining proximate commuting’s feasibility and potential success is identifying and estimating its
commuting benefits. This paper presents a model for quantifying the distance and time savings of
proximate commuting programs. The model relies on stated preference information regarding an
employee’s willingness to proximate commute. Potential commuting savings are modeled as
originating from two distinct sources. First, savings can stem from mutually beneficial job exchanges.
These savings are estimated using optimization tools. Second, due to job vacancies occurring in
time, savings can result from future employee relocations to closer branches. Because predicting
future job vacancies is inherently stochastic, savings from future vacancies are estimated using
optimization tools on scenarios created by a Monte Carlo simulation. The model is implemented and
tested using data from self-administered survey questionnaires distributed among all tellers of a single
banking institution in Bogotá, Colombia. Results suggest immediate savings of 1,700 hours per year
and average savings of more than 8,000 hours, after the second year of program implementation.
These results highlight that accommodating individuals' desire for shorter commutes at negligible cost
is possible and suggest a cautiously optimistic outlook for proximate commuting. Future research
should focus on proximate commuting implementation issues, such as employer adoption, middle
management’s role, and employee satisfaction after relocations.

Levine, J., Q. Hong, G. E. Hug, and D. Rodríguez. (2000) Impacts of an Advanced Public
Transportation System Demonstration Project, Transportation Research Record 1735,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 169-177

In 1997 the Ann Arbor (Michigan) Transportation Authority began deploying a set of integrated,
advanced public transportation system technologies in its vehicles, stations, and control center.
Selected findings are summarized of a multidimensional evaluation of the effects of the system on
schedule adherence and transfer time, passenger perception, and drivers. Some improvement in on-
time performance was observed in vehicle departures from major transfer points, though not in arrivals.
Modest improvements were observed in transfer coordination for routes planned for timed transfers.
Deployment of the system did not raise passengers' rating of relevant aspects of their transit
experience, but impacts of individual system elements were rated favorably. Focus groups and a
driver survey revealed a fundamentally favorable attitude toward the deployment of technology coupled
with some concern about limitations that it might impose on driver communications and on-the-job
creativity. Benefits of the system that were not apparent during the period of the evaluation but may
materialize over the longer term include prevention of and response to safety- and security-related
incidents and enhanced information for transit planning.

Reed, T., D. Rodríguez, and R. Wallace. (2000) Transit-passenger perceptions of transit-
related crime reduction measures. Transportation Research Record 1731, Transportation
Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., pp 130-141.

Safety and security are important considerations for the transit operator, but few empirical results exist
that measure the effectiveness of measures taken to improve transit safety on either actual crime (or
other incident) data or transit passengers’ perceived safety. The current study focuses on the links
between transit safety measures implemented in the Ann Arbor, Michigan region, the visibility of these
improvements to transit passengers, and perceived levels of safety. The findings indicate that the
characteristics of passengers’ riding patterns, and whether or not a safety measure was noticed all
played some role in determining perceived safety. Additionally, ridership patterns and personal
characteristics also affected whether or not passengers noticed safety enhancements. Of the
measures undertaken, increased police presence and increased lighting proved most effective in
increasing perceived levels of safety, and these were also the most visible. Safety measures also had
their greatest positive effect on perceptions in association with those transit places and situations
perceived as least safe. In a similar vein, while women felt less safe overall than men, they were more
likely to notice some safety enhancements and to feel safer as a result.

Ardila, A. and D. Rodríguez. (2000) How Chaos Does Not Destroy Ridership: Operations of an
Exclusive Busway Carrying More than 35,000 Passengers per Hour per Direction.
Transportation Research Record 1726, Transportation Research Board, National Research
Council, Washington D.C., pp 1-8.

Busways have been reported to carry up to 28,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd).
However, recent passenger counts indicate that the exclusive busway in Bogota, Colombia, has a flow
of more than 35,000 pphpd. This passenger flow is achieved despite poor operating conditions and a
general lack of maintenance without a city busway management and operation authority.
Consequently, there is little police control, no systems management, and scarce information for users.
These conditions should affect passenger flow negatively, but the Bogota busway carries more
passengers than all busways for which data are available. The analysis suggests that the Bogota
busway is able to move high passenger flows due to three concurrent and interactive sets of factors.
First, the high competition among bus operators provides drivers with an incentive to operate more
efficiently. Second, the design provides two lanes, allowing for vehicle overtake, as well as stations
that enable six or more buses simultaneously to pick up and discharge passengers. Third, the buses
move in platoons along the busway. Each platoon consists of 12 to 16 buses with average 96-s
headways. Furthermore, time-distance diagrams indicate that the platoons are not stable, because
vehicles keep changing from one platoon to another. The analysis underscores the importance for
transit planners of tradeoffs among passenger flows, level of service, and optimal system operation.

Wallace, R., D. Rodríguez, C. White, and J. Levine. (1999) Who Noticed? Who Cares?
Passenger Reactions to Transit Safety Measures, Transportation Research Record 1666,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 133-138.

Safety and security are important considerations for the transit operator, but few empirical results
exist that measure the effectiveness of measures taken to improve transit safety on either actual
crime (or other incident) data or transit passengers’ perceived safety. The current study focuses on
the links between transit safety measures implemented in the Ann Arbor, Michigan region, the visibility
of these improvements to transit passengers, and perceived levels of safety. The findings indicate that
the characteristics of passengers’ riding patterns, and whether or not a safety measure was noticed al
l played some role in determining perceived safety. Additionally, ridership patterns and personal
characteristics also affected whether or not passengers noticed safety enhancements. Of the
measures undertaken, increased police presence and increased lighting proved most effective in
increasing perceived levels of safety, and these were also the most visible. Safety measures also had
their greatest positive effect on perceptions in association with those transit places and situations
perceived as least safe. In a similar vein, while women felt less safe overall than men, they were more
likely to notice some safety enhancements and to feel safer as a result.

Rodríguez, D. (1999) Expanding the Urban Transportation Infrastructure Through Concession
Agreements: Early Lessons From Latin America, Transportation Research Record 1659,
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1999, 3-11.

Driven by fiscal constraints and disappointment with the performance of state-provided services,
national and subnational governments have turned to the private sector for solutions in financing,
constructing, and providing transportation services. This paper analyzes key concession package
features and their effect on reaching closure among urban transportation concession agreements.
Case analyses drawn from the major attempts to develop urban transportation infrastructure in Latin
America through concession agreements are considered. Results indicate that features common to
large infrastructure projects (such as high capital costs and asset indivisibility), urban transportation
(such as high intermodal competition and the uncertainty of accurate demand forecasts), and
developing countries (such as incipient financial markets) are negatively associated with reaching
successful financial closure of the agreements. These results suggest that governments should pay
close attention to risk allocation in a concession plan. By illustrating the intricate interdependencies
among package features and how complex and tailored to specific context successful concession
agreements must be, it is concluded that governments have more rather than fewer decisions when
developing infrastructure via concession agreements.

Rodríguez, D., A. Muñoz, T. Penddleton, and J. Sussman. (1998) ITS Regional Architectures
and the Competitive Region, Transportation Research Record 1651, Transportation Research
Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1998, 1-8.

The transportation system of any region is critical for conducting daily operations, sustaining markets,
and creating access to new business opportunities. This paper analyzes a role that a system
architecture for deploying Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can play in reaching solutions to
regional problems. Recent developments in information technologies have implications for
transportation institutions by either increasing regional demands for transportation or as catalysts for
reaching coordinated regional solutions. The latter option is explored by focusing on why a regional
architecture for ITS deployment can be an effective and flexible strategic tool for integrating and
shaping a region. The concept of regional architecture for ITS deployment is presented as an
organizational tool that adapts to diverse regional requirements while building cohesiveness among
institutions in pursuit of region-specific goals. The case is made for using regional architectures for
i) planning ITS deployment; ii) spearheading transportation solutions at the regional level; and iii) and
strengthening the metropolitan planning process by bringing stakeholders together that otherwise
would not have been included in the process.

Rodríguez, D. and J. Sussman. (1997). A Framework for Developing a Regional ITS System
Architecture, Transportation Research Record 1588, Transportation Research Board,
National Research Council, Washington D.C, 77-85.

Defining an architecture for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) at the regional level, where most
ITS deployment occurs, is constrained by jurisdictional, institutional, financial, political, and regulatory
factors. These constraints provide opportunities for the architecture that go beyond its traditional role
as a guiding tool for technology implementation to a newer role of reorienting institutional relationships.
An architecture development approach is proposed that considers regional transportation needs and
characteristics so as to increase the benefits from implementing ITS locally. It also provides a new
way of thinking about the importance of the National ITS System Architecture in the context of regional
ITS deployments. The development approach was tested by considering how regional architectures in
New York, Boston, and Houston address regional needs. Findings and implications of the regional ITS
architectures of the case study areas are presented.


	RELATED LINKS: Rodríguez Home Summary of existiong projects Ongoing & recently completed research support Selected Publications		Rodríguez, D. (2004) Spatial choices and excess commuting: A case study of bank tellers in Bogotá, Colombia, Journal of Transport Geography, 12:1, 49-61. This study uses disaggregate data from Bogotá, Colombia to examine the presumption that individuals engaging in excess commuting have satisfactorily traded commuting for other location benefits. By estimating involuntary and voluntary excess commuting, the study illustrates that deviations from the minimum commute implied by the urban spatial structure are expected due to temporal and structural constraints, even when the journey to work is a household’s only locational concern. Therefore, the usefulness of excess commuting estimates for informing policy choices hinging on the connection between transportation and land use would increase if the voluntary and involuntary components of excess commuting were incorporated explicitly into the calculations. Results suggest that future excess commuting research should devote additional attention to contextual factors constraining individuals’ spatial choices. Rodríguez, D. and Joo, J. (2004) The relationship between non-motorized travel behavior and the local physical environment, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 9:2, 151-173. By estimating multinomial choice models, this paper examines the relationship between travel mode choice and attributes of the local physical environment such as topography, sidewalk availability, residential density, and the presence of walking and cycling paths. Data for student and staff commuters to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill are used to illustrate the relationship between mode choice and the objectively measured environmental attributes, while accounting for typical modal characteristics such as travel time, access time, and out-of-pocket cost. Results suggest that jointly the four attributes of the local physical environment make significant marginal contributions to explaining travel mode choice. In particular, the estimates reveal that local topography and sidewalk availability are significantly associated with the attractiveness of non-motorized modes. Point elasticities are provided and recommendations given regarding the importance of incorporating non-motorized modes into local transportation planning and in the study of how the built environment influences travel behavior. Rodríguez, D., Rocha, M. Khattak, A., and M. Belzer. (2003). Effects of Truck Driver Wages and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study. Transportation Research Record 1883, 95-102. The role that human capital and occupational factors play in influencing driver safety outcomes has gained increased attention from trucking firms and policy-makers. This paper examines the role of these factors, in addition to demographic factors, in influencing the crash frequency of truck drivers. A unique driver-level dataset from a large truckload firm collected over a period of 26 months is used for estimating regression models of crash counts. Based on estimates from a zero-inflated Poisson regression model, results suggest that human capital and occupational factors, such as pay, tenure at the job, and percent of miles driven during winter months, have a significantly better explanatory power of crash frequency than demographic factors. Taking into account both the zero-inflation and the count model, results suggest that higher pay rates and experiencing a pay increase are related to lower expected crash counts and to a higher probability of having no crashes, all else held equal. Although the data for the study come from a single firm, the evidence provided is a first step in examining the structural causes of unsafe driving behavior, such as driver compensation. These results can motivate other firms in modifying operations and driver hiring practices. They also support the need for a broader examination of the relationship between driver compensation and driver safety. Rodríguez, D. (2002) Examining individuals' desire for a shorter commute: The case of proximate commuting, Environment and Planning B, 29, 867-881. Much of the theoretical and empirical debate about transport and land use planning has focused upon the strength and vitality of the connection between the two. Studies increasingly find that this connection is weakening and thus prescribe that attempts to address urban transport problems with land use policies are ineffective. This paper introduces proximate commuting, a novel employer-based program that decreases urban commuting by providing marginal accessibility improvements to its participants. Using a case study involving a commercial bank in the Western Detroit Metropolitan Area, the paper examines individuals’ motivations for participating in a proximate commuting program. Results show that 25 percent of bank tellers surveyed state that they are willing to take advantage of this accessibility-improving program. Estimation of a discrete choice model reveals that gender; expected improvements in accessibility; and better job-related prospects are three key factors explaining individuals’ stated willingness to proximate commute. To the extent that these results hold more generally, they underscore the usefulness of interventions that rely on marginal improvements of home-to-work accessibility. Furthermore, the case illustrates an innovative approach for addressing transport challenges that is politically palatable and enhances individual choices. Rodríguez, D. and A. Ardila. (2002) An Empirical Exploration of Bus Travel Times and Dwell Times in a Highly Competitive Exclusive Busway, Journal of Public Transportation, 5:1, 39-60. Busway transit has re-emerged as a cost-effective transportation alternative for providing urban mobility. This paper examines the operational consequences of an exclusive busway system with high passenger ridership and subject to the competitive forces of individual operators. Results suggest that the increase in running time associated with an additional passenger movement is low but that the delay imposed by recurrent vehicle deceleration and acceleration related to frequent stops is high. Frequent vehicle stops reduce fuel efficiency, increase pollution, reduce travel time, and decrease productivity. Results of several specifications of dwell time regression models indicate that established models tend to yield biased coefficients for boarding and alighting passenger movements. These model results also confirm that the dwell time delay associated to an additional passenger movement is very low in Bogotá’s busway even though average dwell time per passenger tends to be high. It follows, therefore, that organizing passenger boarding and alighting operations and consolidating passenger activity points promise to be effective strategies for improving operations. More broadly, we find that under a deregulated operating environment a regulatory framework that includes monitoring operations and enforcing designated stop locations remains important for busways’ operating efficiency. Rodríguez, D. (2001) Proximate Commuting, Hype or Potential? Transportation Research Record 1675, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 35-42. "Proximate commuting" is a potential employer-based travel demand management (TDM) program under which large, decentralized employers reassign voluntary participants to job locations (with the same employer) closer to the worker's residence in order to reduce commuting distances. Key to determining proximate commuting’s feasibility and potential success is identifying and estimating its commuting benefits. This paper presents a model for quantifying the distance and time savings of proximate commuting programs. The model relies on stated preference information regarding an employee’s willingness to proximate commute. Potential commuting savings are modeled as originating from two distinct sources. First, savings can stem from mutually beneficial job exchanges. These savings are estimated using optimization tools. Second, due to job vacancies occurring in time, savings can result from future employee relocations to closer branches. Because predicting future job vacancies is inherently stochastic, savings from future vacancies are estimated using optimization tools on scenarios created by a Monte Carlo simulation. The model is implemented and tested using data from self-administered survey questionnaires distributed among all tellers of a single banking institution in Bogotá, Colombia. Results suggest immediate savings of 1,700 hours per year and average savings of more than 8,000 hours, after the second year of program implementation. These results highlight that accommodating individuals' desire for shorter commutes at negligible cost is possible and suggest a cautiously optimistic outlook for proximate commuting. Future research should focus on proximate commuting implementation issues, such as employer adoption, middle management’s role, and employee satisfaction after relocations. Levine, J., Q. Hong, G. E. Hug, and D. Rodríguez. (2000) Impacts of an Advanced Public Transportation System Demonstration Project, Transportation Research Record 1735, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 169-177 In 1997 the Ann Arbor (Michigan) Transportation Authority began deploying a set of integrated, advanced public transportation system technologies in its vehicles, stations, and control center. Selected findings are summarized of a multidimensional evaluation of the effects of the system on schedule adherence and transfer time, passenger perception, and drivers. Some improvement in on- time performance was observed in vehicle departures from major transfer points, though not in arrivals. Modest improvements were observed in transfer coordination for routes planned for timed transfers. Deployment of the system did not raise passengers' rating of relevant aspects of their transit experience, but impacts of individual system elements were rated favorably. Focus groups and a driver survey revealed a fundamentally favorable attitude toward the deployment of technology coupled with some concern about limitations that it might impose on driver communications and on-the-job creativity. Benefits of the system that were not apparent during the period of the evaluation but may materialize over the longer term include prevention of and response to safety- and security-related incidents and enhanced information for transit planning. Reed, T., D. Rodríguez, and R. Wallace. (2000) Transit-passenger perceptions of transit- related crime reduction measures. Transportation Research Record 1731, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., pp 130-141. Safety and security are important considerations for the transit operator, but few empirical results exist that measure the effectiveness of measures taken to improve transit safety on either actual crime (or other incident) data or transit passengers’ perceived safety. The current study focuses on the links between transit safety measures implemented in the Ann Arbor, Michigan region, the visibility of these improvements to transit passengers, and perceived levels of safety. The findings indicate that the characteristics of passengers’ riding patterns, and whether or not a safety measure was noticed all played some role in determining perceived safety. Additionally, ridership patterns and personal characteristics also affected whether or not passengers noticed safety enhancements. Of the measures undertaken, increased police presence and increased lighting proved most effective in increasing perceived levels of safety, and these were also the most visible. Safety measures also had their greatest positive effect on perceptions in association with those transit places and situations perceived as least safe. In a similar vein, while women felt less safe overall than men, they were more likely to notice some safety enhancements and to feel safer as a result. Ardila, A. and D. Rodríguez. (2000) How Chaos Does Not Destroy Ridership: Operations of an Exclusive Busway Carrying More than 35,000 Passengers per Hour per Direction. Transportation Research Record 1726, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., pp 1-8. Busways have been reported to carry up to 28,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). However, recent passenger counts indicate that the exclusive busway in Bogota, Colombia, has a flow of more than 35,000 pphpd. This passenger flow is achieved despite poor operating conditions and a general lack of maintenance without a city busway management and operation authority. Consequently, there is little police control, no systems management, and scarce information for users. These conditions should affect passenger flow negatively, but the Bogota busway carries more passengers than all busways for which data are available. The analysis suggests that the Bogota busway is able to move high passenger flows due to three concurrent and interactive sets of factors. First, the high competition among bus operators provides drivers with an incentive to operate more efficiently. Second, the design provides two lanes, allowing for vehicle overtake, as well as stations that enable six or more buses simultaneously to pick up and discharge passengers. Third, the buses move in platoons along the busway. Each platoon consists of 12 to 16 buses with average 96-s headways. Furthermore, time-distance diagrams indicate that the platoons are not stable, because vehicles keep changing from one platoon to another. The analysis underscores the importance for transit planners of tradeoffs among passenger flows, level of service, and optimal system operation. Wallace, R., D. Rodríguez, C. White, and J. Levine. (1999) Who Noticed? Who Cares? Passenger Reactions to Transit Safety Measures, Transportation Research Record 1666, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 133-138. Safety and security are important considerations for the transit operator, but few empirical results exist that measure the effectiveness of measures taken to improve transit safety on either actual crime (or other incident) data or transit passengers’ perceived safety. The current study focuses on the links between transit safety measures implemented in the Ann Arbor, Michigan region, the visibility of these improvements to transit passengers, and perceived levels of safety. The findings indicate that the characteristics of passengers’ riding patterns, and whether or not a safety measure was noticed al l played some role in determining perceived safety. Additionally, ridership patterns and personal characteristics also affected whether or not passengers noticed safety enhancements. Of the measures undertaken, increased police presence and increased lighting proved most effective in increasing perceived levels of safety, and these were also the most visible. Safety measures also had their greatest positive effect on perceptions in association with those transit places and situations perceived as least safe. In a similar vein, while women felt less safe overall than men, they were more likely to notice some safety enhancements and to feel safer as a result. Rodríguez, D. (1999) Expanding the Urban Transportation Infrastructure Through Concession Agreements: Early Lessons From Latin America, Transportation Research Record 1659, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1999, 3-11. Driven by fiscal constraints and disappointment with the performance of state-provided services, national and subnational governments have turned to the private sector for solutions in financing, constructing, and providing transportation services. This paper analyzes key concession package features and their effect on reaching closure among urban transportation concession agreements. Case analyses drawn from the major attempts to develop urban transportation infrastructure in Latin America through concession agreements are considered. Results indicate that features common to large infrastructure projects (such as high capital costs and asset indivisibility), urban transportation (such as high intermodal competition and the uncertainty of accurate demand forecasts), and developing countries (such as incipient financial markets) are negatively associated with reaching successful financial closure of the agreements. These results suggest that governments should pay close attention to risk allocation in a concession plan. By illustrating the intricate interdependencies among package features and how complex and tailored to specific context successful concession agreements must be, it is concluded that governments have more rather than fewer decisions when developing infrastructure via concession agreements. Rodríguez, D., A. Muñoz, T. Penddleton, and J. Sussman. (1998) ITS Regional Architectures and the Competitive Region, Transportation Research Record 1651, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1998, 1-8. The transportation system of any region is critical for conducting daily operations, sustaining markets, and creating access to new business opportunities. This paper analyzes a role that a system architecture for deploying Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can play in reaching solutions to regional problems. Recent developments in information technologies have implications for transportation institutions by either increasing regional demands for transportation or as catalysts for reaching coordinated regional solutions. The latter option is explored by focusing on why a regional architecture for ITS deployment can be an effective and flexible strategic tool for integrating and shaping a region. The concept of regional architecture for ITS deployment is presented as an organizational tool that adapts to diverse regional requirements while building cohesiveness among institutions in pursuit of region-specific goals. The case is made for using regional architectures for i) planning ITS deployment; ii) spearheading transportation solutions at the regional level; and iii) and strengthening the metropolitan planning process by bringing stakeholders together that otherwise would not have been included in the process. Rodríguez, D. and J. Sussman. (1997). A Framework for Developing a Regional ITS System Architecture, Transportation Research Record 1588, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington D.C, 77-85. Defining an architecture for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) at the regional level, where most ITS deployment occurs, is constrained by jurisdictional, institutional, financial, political, and regulatory factors. These constraints provide opportunities for the architecture that go beyond its traditional role as a guiding tool for technology implementation to a newer role of reorienting institutional relationships. An architecture development approach is proposed that considers regional transportation needs and characteristics so as to increase the benefits from implementing ITS locally. It also provides a new way of thinking about the importance of the National ITS System Architecture in the context of regional ITS deployments. The development approach was tested by considering how regional architectures in New York, Boston, and Houston address regional needs. Findings and implications of the regional ITS architectures of the case study areas are presented.