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Shaheen's Transit Connectivity Project Wins TRB Communication Award (PDF of Press Release)
Innovative Mobility Research (IMR) has been named the 2008 winner of the Transportation Research Board's "Communication with John and Jane Public Competition." The IMR group is led by Susan Shaheen, research director at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at UC Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies.
The award-winning entry was developed as part of the group's research on transit barriers. The project sought to reach older adults living in the Rossmoor retirement community, near Walnut Creek, Calif., who had limited or no experience using public transit. A training video was created to address the population's uncertainties about transit use, for example, how to obtain transit information and how to make transfers. The video was shown on a local television station, as well as at the Rossmoor movie theater, where respondents were surveyed before and after watching the video. The video and study were funded by the Honda Endowment for New Mobility Studies, based at UC Davis, and the Mineta Transportation Institute.
The award will be presented at a 3 p.m. ceremony on Monday, January 14, as part of a poster session held at the 2008 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
IMR's entry topped a field of 80 candidates from around the world. Entries employed a wide range of media, including comic books, board games, You Tube videos, interactive Web pages, and print materials to communicate with the public about issues including traffic congestion, HOT lanes, jobs in transportation and bridge design.
The Innovative Mobility Research group focuses on the areas of goods movement, transit connectivity, intelligent transportation systems, mobility for special populations, alternative fuels and alternative land use and transport futures. They are based at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, a UC Berkeley research center formed in 2006 to combine the resources of six University of California research groups doing transportation-related sustainability work. Alex Farrell is the director. TSRC is administered by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at UC Berkeley is an internationally recognized center for research, education and scholarship in the field of transportation. The California state legislature created ITS at UC Berkeley in 1948 to support the rebuilding of the U.S. transportation system following World War II. Its mission was "to conduct research and provide instruction to a new generation of transportation professionals" and it still serves that mission today.
ITS Berkeley is part of the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies, a multi-campus research unit that includes UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UCLA.