Research

At RUTA-HC, we employ diverse quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine transportation’s impact on public health, aiming to shape public policy and planning initiatives that pave the way for a healthier future. Recognizing transportation’s fundamental role in economic and social factors influencing community health, our mission is to drive positive change by engineering safer, more resilient, and equitable transportation systems that foster belonging and improve overall well-being.

Regarding research methods, we performed a plethora of statistical (non-spatial and spatial econometric modeling in STATA, R, GeoDa, and ArcGIS Pro), quantitative, and feasibility analyses, and have created decision-making tools to address diverse transportation-related challenges. We also have expertise in conducting qualitative analyses, surveys, mix-method analyses, and utilizing behavioral science methodologies to study complex transportation issues. The topics we have worked on are shown in the graph below:

Understanding External Factors and Workload’s Impact on Cyclist Safety

The Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) research project studied the human factors of cyclists in a naturalistic test with an emphasis on understanding physiological stress. At present, human factors research in cycling is understudied, and when it has been done, it often only focuses on one or two of the three measures of human factors. Conversely, this study captured subjective, performance, and physiological measures by way of pre- and post-test surveys, GPS tracking of speed, and ECG and eye tracking devices. All of this data first and foremost allows transportation professionals to understand stress and the experiences of cyclists from a first-hand empirical lens. Additionally, as the transportation community becomes ever more focused on cyclist safety, this research is invaluable in identifying areas of concern for cyclists. At present, this study, however, focused on intersections, which constitute some of the most stressful roadway elements for cyclists. By looking at the data for five distinct intersections in the test route, it was observed that larger intersections with more movements and intersections with more challenging geometry are areas of concern for cyclists, as in nearly every case cyclists’ showed elevated heart rates and increased eye movement. Going forward, this research can be used to understand stress along different cyclist infrastructure types to aid in validating the classic level of stress model, to understand near misses and cyclist/vehicle interactions, and to validate VR studies of cyclists, to name a few areas of future consideration.

Microtransit: The What, How and Where.

Microtransit is an on-demand public transportation service supported by an app for booking. It has been called the new generation of “Dial-a-ride” services with the integration of an app and routing optimization for dame day reservation trips. Demand response services are useful in areas with low demand where high-capacity systems like fixed-route buses or the metro are not feasible or as a first-mile last-mile complement. Rural areas can benefit from microtransit by providing public transportation services or improving the existing ones. The research on microtransit best practices for rural microtransit evaluated what, how, and where of microtransit, identifying the factors that make microtransit feasible in a rural setting, the how-to of planning and implementing this type of services, and where it should be implemented. For this purpose, in addition to revising the state of the practice and researching this topic, we talked with 12 rural microtransit cases to understand their implementation process and the motivations, benefits, and challenges of microtransit. This delves into best practices for microtransit implementation and a guide to evaluating microtransit feasibility with the Rural Microtransit Propensity Index generated for New Mexico. An overview of the cases contacted and the Rural Microtransit Propensity Index, a tool that measures the suitability of a rural area for microtransit, can be found in this Story Map.

Evaluating Inequality in EV Charging Stations in New Mexico

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining immense popularity, and their adoption is rising. This transition to EVs is crucial for various reasons, most notably from the environmental perspective, i.e., reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent climate change. However, with this increasing adaptation, the fairness of EV infrastructure availability is not the same among different communities. The Justice 40 Initiative has differentiated communities into two groups, i.e., disadvantaged communities (DACs) and non-disadvantaged communities (non-DACs), based on five indicators: Transportation insecurity, Environmental Burden, Social Vulnerability, Health Vulnerability, and Climate and Disaster Risk Burden. Using this data, this research focuses on identifying disadvantaged communities (DACs) across different tracts in New Mexico and finding whether access to the Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVCS) is equitable across the DACs and non-DACs. This is achieved by leveraging the power of spatial and network analysis and using data from the U.S. Department of Energy, USDOT(ETC)Explorer, Census Data, and Open Street Map. The outcome of this research can provide insight into whether the Justice 40 initiative is on the way to delivering its goals of providing equitable access to the transportation infrastructure to marginalized communities. This outcome can offer valuable guidelines for implementing the policies and projects to stay on track with the Justice 40 Initiative. Additionally, it would offer a methodological framework that could be used to develop similar analyses in other regions in the U.S.