METRANS, CITT, and Caltrans Collaboration:
2020 Caltrans Freight Academy
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Caltrans’ relationship with METRANS has led to numerous partnerships in events, workshops, and research that mutually benefit transportation researchers and professionals on a state and local level. The Caltrans Freight Academy’s focus is capacity building for transportation professionals. This year, due to pandemic concerns, the event was redesigned for an online environment. “While the COVID-19 pandemic required us to transition to an online distance-learning format, the workshop proved very successful,” said METRANS Deputy Director Tom O’Brien. “We provided a meaningful digital educational experience for more than 80 participants from across the state.” |
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Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Virtually
Celebrates 60th Anniversary of its Annual Conference
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The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) hosted its virtual 60th Anniversary Annual Conference in November 2020. The four-day conference included a keynote panel discussion on “Decolonizing Planning,” open roundtable discussions, paper presentations, and social networking events. The 2020 conference’s focus on “Racial Equity and Justice in Urban Planning Research and Education in the Face of Racialized Inequality” had a unique objective this year: to elevate the scholarly voices in ACSP whose research and expertise lay within racial equity. |
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USC students who presented at ACSP include: |
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Lt. Col. Sean Fazande Tapped for
METRANS Student Chief of Staff
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With 24 years of military experience, Sean Fazande is no stranger to leading teams to accomplish objectives. When he expressed interest in joining the METRANS student team in the fall of 2020, he transitioned easily into the role of Student Chief of Staff where he helps manage METRANS student workers, projects, and initiatives. He brings decades of leadership to this role and serves as a valuable leader and mentor to USC students. |
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METRANS Announces Research Webinars for Spring 2021 |
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METRANS has had a long tradition of hosting engaging and informative public events. Since moving to online events, we are proud to share that our events have continued to reach diverse participants – now from across the globe - interested in transportation. We continue this tradition this spring, showcasing cutting edge transportation research in a virtual format. In addition to our hour-long research seminars, this spring we include our annual signature event, the Emerging Scholars Transportation Research Symposium, where we invite keynote speakers and advanced transportation students to share their research. We encourage you to contact Dr. Victoria Deguzman at for more information or to attend any of these events.
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METRANS Researcher Develops a Strategic
Sustainability Plan for Long Beach Transit
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In 2006, California passed the Global Warming Solutions Act and followed with the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act in 2008, solidifying California’s commitment to massively reduce the state’s climate impact. As the second-largest city in Los Angeles County and one with a major transit agency, the City of Long Beach has made major strides in transitioning its transit agency’s fuel sources to sustainable and renewable energy. Long Beach Transit (LBT) provides fixed-route, paratransit, and water taxi services in a service area of over 100 square miles with two major operating facilities in the City of Long Beach. With a fleet currently 89% dependent on alternative fuel, LBT plans to completely transition to alternative fuel sometime this year. Recently, the transit agency developed a strategic plan designed to prioritize safety, financial accountability, and community. In support of LBT’s strategic plan and sustainability protocols, Dr. Hilda Blanco, METRANS researcher and Interim Director of USC’s Center for Sustainable Cities, developed the “Long Beach Transit Strategic Sustainability Plan,” which delineates LBT’s sustainability objectives drawing upon interviews with agency members and transit sustainability protocols from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
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PSR Researcher Michael Zhang Evaluates the Use of Variable
Speed Limits to Mitigate Carbon Footprint
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The goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption stemming from vehicle usage calls for creative solutions in unexpected areas. Michael Zhang, Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Davis, along with Graduate Researchers Hang Gao and Shenyang Chen, examined the potential of using variable speed limits (VSL) to lessen environmental damage. Variable speed limits allow the speed limit to vary depending on traffic conditions. Under the current practice of static speed limits, traffic congestion and the consequential stop-and-go flow of traffic on freeways increase travel delays, result in greater fuel consumption, and pose a greater crash risk to motorists. Using VSL, road users would travel under a lower speed limit on specific sections of the road (typically upstream of a bottleneck), instead of being under a single speed limit throughout the entire freeway. VSL is typically considered a strategy for mitigating accidents, improving road safety, and reducing crash likelihood in conditions such as harsh weather or construction areas. However, Zhang and his team, in the PSR-funded research project titled, “Get More Out of Variable Speed Limit (VSL) Control: An Integrated Approach to Manage Traffic Corridors with Multiple Bottlenecks,” focused on determining if VSL could be used to reduce fuel consumption and associated carbon dioxide emissions by mitigating traffic congestion.
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Recently Completed Research Projects
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METRANS researchers from our member institutions have recently completed the following project in the three topical areas of: integrated management of freight and passenger systems, sustainable and efficient urban freight transportation, and urban mobility. To learn more about specific projects, please click on the title to access the research briefs and reports. |
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Mindful Mobility Tech Talks Series:
Sustainable Freight Foundations Certificate for Middle Managers:
(Part I) Overview, Freight Systems & Management,
Legal Issues for Sustainable Freight Operations
featuring Tom O'Brien (CITT), Deanna Matsumoto (CITT),
Larry Rillera (CEC), and Cameron Roberts (Roberts & Kehagiaras LLP)
Friday, February 4th at 1:00 PM (PST)
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ITS-Davis Webinar:
Mobility Justice and the Future of Transportation
featuring Darnell Grisby
(TransForm Executive Director)
Friday, February 5th at 1:40 PM (PST)
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Analyzing Impacts of Major Events: A Case Study of the LA Coliseum
featuring Genevieve Giuliano
and Yougeng Lu (USC)
Thursday, February 18th at 12:00 PM (PST)
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PSR Emerging Scholars Transportation Research Symposium
featuring California State Senator Fran Pavley (USC)
and Susan L. Handy (UC Davis)
Tuesday, March 2nd - Wedneday, March 3rd
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The METRANS Transportation Center was established in 1998 as the first University Transportation Center in Southern California. METRANS is a joint partnership of the University of Southern California (USC) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
METRANS' mission is to solve transportation problems of large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. Its three primary objectives are: (1) fostering independent, high quality research to solve the nation's transportation problems; (2) training the next generation transportation workforce; and (3) disseminating information, best practices, and technology to the professional community
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