Third Year of National Urban Transit Institute Grant Awarded; RSPA Administrator Sharma visits USF

The National Urban Transit Institute (NUTI), a consortium of the University of South Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida International University, and Florida State University and lead by CUTR, kicked off the start of its third-year research program by hosting a visit to the USF-Tampa campus by Dr. Dave Sharma, Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration, the USDOT office that administers the NUTI grant.

Dr. Sharma, making his first visit to Tampa, presented the award to USF President Betty Castor and CUTR Director Gary Brosch at a ceremony attended by University officials, faculty, and local dignitaries.

The National Urban Transit Institute, originally established by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, initiated research activities in the fall of 1993 with its first-year program. NUTI Year One research projects were completed in late 1994 and resulted in a variety of research reports, training programs, and other technology transfer activities designed to disseminate the knowledge gained to transit industry professionals, policymakers, educators, and students.

NUTI Year Two research projects are currently nearing completion, including hosting two national conferences, initiating the paper selection process for the Journal of Public Transportation, and conducting numerous other technical research studies.

The third year of the research program was developed in the spring of 1995 with the solicitation of research proposals from various faculty at the participating universities. More than 30 proposals were submitted to a project selection committee for consideration. This committee, charged with ensuring the research focuses on projects of critical interest to the transit industry, includes, in addition to representatives from the consortium schools:

After projects were selected and modifications in scopes, schedules, and budgets were incorporated to respond to the input of the selection committee, a program of 15 individual projects was included as part of the Year Three work plan. The project mix includes continuation of some successful initiatives such as sponsorship of the African-American Mobility Symposium and the Journal of Public Transportation as well as new projects:

Florida A&M University

  1. An Assessment of the Relationship Between the Telecommuting Population and Public Transportation Managers (C. Wright, A. Taylor)
  2. The Black Church: An Alternative Urban Transportation Amenity (C. Wright, A. Taylor, A. Shipman)
  3. Evaluation of Mass Transit on Environmental Equity and Justice (C. Kidd, R. Shackleford, K. Davis, A. Weaver)

Florida International University

  1. A Temporal Geographic Information System for Guideway Public Transit Management (Y.K Lee, F. Zhao, D. Shen)
  2. Workshop on Emerging Fare Collection Technologies in Mass Transit (D. Shen, N. O. Attoh-Okine)

Florida State University

  1. Stormwater Management Manual for Public Transit Maintenance Facilities (A. Dzurik)
  2. The Impact of Transit Supply on the Labor Force Participation Rate of Young Black Males & Other At-Risk Groups (G. Thompson)
  3. FIMAT Promotional Materials Clearinghouse (B. Mustard, J. Cronin)
  4. Niche Marketing: Opportunities for Increasing Short- & Long-Term Transit Ridership (B. Mustard, J. Cronin)

University of South Florida/CUTR

  1. Timing Considerations in Planning Major Transit Investment Projects (S. Polzin, X. Chu)
  2. Journal of Public Transportation (G. Brosch, P. Henderson)
  3. Lessons Learned in Transit Savings, Efficiencies & Revenue Generation (J. Volinski, M. LaBruce, J. Rey)
  4. Geographic Information Systems as a Tool for Examining Environmental Equity Issues in Public Transportation (E. Hill, B. Ward)
  5. African-American Mobility Symposium III (E. Hill, B. Ward)
  6. Measuring Transit Performance in Florida: An Indexing Approach (X. Chu)

For more information, contact each universitys program representative: FAMU--Dr. Charles Wright, (904) 599-3506; FIU--Dr. David Shen, (305) 348-3055; FSU--Mr. Bill Mustard, (904) 644-2509; and CUTR--Dr. Steve Polzin, (813) 974-3120.




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