This report presents three case studies of innovative transportation planning efforts in metropolitan areas to improve access to jobs for current welfare recipients and other low income residents. These Access to Jobs case studies of the Hartford, St. Louis, and Detroit metropolitan areas focus on developing transportation solutions that meet locally defined goals and objectives and ensure that former welfare recipients have the needed mobility to reach employment opportunities. The experiences of each area offer a number of insights into how metropolitan transportation planning process might be applied in developing solutions to employment access problems. Topics discussed include local conditions, job access problem, types and characteristics of existing and planned services, impact of proposed solutions, organizational roles and responsibilities, context of planning effort, resource constraints, and planning methods.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 dramatically altered the nation's system for providing assistance to the poor. Among the many changes, the act replaced the existing entitlement program for poor families (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) with fixed block grants to the states to provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF imposes work requirements on adults and establishes time limits on the receipt of federal assistance. However, for welfare recipients trying to move from welfare to work, a lack of transportation to the places of employment can pose significant barriers. Existing public transportation systems cannot always transport low-income people from their homes to the entry-level jobs they would likely fill. Many of these jobs are located in suburbs beyond the reach of public transportation, or they require shift work in the evenings or on weekends when public transportation is unavailable or limited.

Two conferences on Refocusing Transportation Planning for the 21st Century were held in 1999 following passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The first conference focused on the identification of key trends, issues, and general areas of research. The results of Conference I, which produced stand-alone products, were used as input for Conference II. The second conference had the specific objective of producing research problem statements. Its mission was to review the results of the first conference by developing these statements. Conference II produced a number of detailed research statements that form the basis for the National Agenda for Transportation Planning Research. The proceedings of both conferences are presented in this report.

This book offers solutions for creating sustainable urban transportation. Topics include historical developments, planning, policy and legislative initiatives, nonmotorized and public transportation, environmental and social justice issues, and safety. The author discusses social, health and economic consequences of autocentric transportation and possible policy measures to address them. The important topic of changing travel behavior is discussed. Chapters contain straightforward concepts, case studies, review questions and ideas for class projects. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

This comprehensive survey of transportation economic policy pays homage to a classic work, Techniques of Transportation Planning, by renowned transportation scholar John R. Meyer. With contributions from leading economists in the field, it includes added emphasis on policy developments and analysis. The book covers the basic analytic methods used in transportation economics and policy analysis; focuses on the automobile, as both the mainstay of American transportation and the source of some of its most serious difficulties; covers key issues of urban public transportation; and analyzes the impact of regulation and deregulation on the U.S. airline, railroad, and trucking industries. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Alan A. Altshuler, Harvard University; Ronald R. Braeutigam, Northwestern University; Robert E. Gallamore, Union Pacific Railroad; Arnold M. Howitt, Harvard University; Gregory K. Ingram, The Wold Bank; John F. Kain, University of Texas at Dallas; Charles Lave, University of California, Irvine; Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon University; Robert A. Leone, Boston University; Zhi Liu, The World Bank; Herbert Mohring, University of Minnesota; Steven A. Morrison, Northeastern University; Katherine M. O'Regan, Yale University; Don Pickrell, U.S. Department of Transportation; John M. Quigley, University of California, Berkeley; Ian Savage, Northwestern University; and Kenneth A. Small, University of California Irvine.

Accompanying computer disc contains case study descriptions and color illustrations of GIS applications for transit planning and welfare to work purpose.

The book deals with urban transportation planning in light of environmental sustainability and social equity. It begins with a review of the Indian urban transportation system and the issues surrounding it, and discusses the alternatives and policy directions that are being considered. It examines all the environmental issues arising out of transportation as a sector and assesses the alternatives that can be considered to improve sustainability. Further, the book not only analyses transportation modes that cater to the travel needs of the poor, so as to make them more socially equitable, but also explores measures to promote them using a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder approach. It addresses the barriers that are bottlenecks for the implementation of cleaner fuels and modes of transport and presents an incremental approach to tackle environmental concerns, including climate change, when planning transportation in the long term. Finally, it presents the dilemma of city administrators in choosing between strategies aimed at local pollution control and those aimed at limiting global emissions. This unique book provides a comprehensive overview of “sustainable transportation.” It discusses all the important elements that are essential to transportation planners and policy makers when planning a city’s transportation. Theoretical presentations augmented by case-specific research work and the methodology used in some of the modules, make it a valuable resource for researchers working at the forefront of this area.