Blog
December 5, 2016
Contextual engineering – why a greater appreciation for the role of conflict and peace studies is key to the success of infrastructure projects
Recently I had the opportunity to sit on a panel at a symposium hosted by my undergraduate alma mater, Marquette University. The symposium – What was Achieved? Migration, Impunity, and Social Justice after the Peace Accords in El Salvador and Guatemala – was organized by professors of history, Spanish, philosophy, and business with the support…
November 14, 2016
The love and hate with e-bikes in Chinese cities
Seattle is considering bringing in an electric-assist bike (e-bike) share program proposed by Bewegen around April of 2017 to replace the Pronto bike sharing that is running currently in the city. But according to the Chinese cities that represent the first-ever widespread adoption of commercial electric bikes, they are far from perfect. China has been…
November 11, 2016
Realizing the carpool potential in the Puget Sound Region
Public agencies have been trying to incentivize carpooling (or at least dis-incentivize driving alone) for years, but through pavement markings and toll booths rather than with technology. The implementation of lane restrictions and tolling in the form of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV), High Occupancy Toll (HOT), and Express Toll lanes serve as different means to…
November 9, 2016
Is Metro maximizing their resources?
When riding the bus one night around 8:00 I realized that I was on a 60 foot articulated bus carrying just me and one other passenger. During rush hour I have been on these buses when they have been nearly full. However, it seemed odd to me that the same bus would still be used…
November 7, 2016
Is going electric the answer?
The Pronto bike sharing system began operating in Seattle in October 2014 with 500 bikes at 54 stations located throughout the University District and downtown area of Seattle. In 2015, the system ran into funding issues and in March 2016 was bought by the City of Seattle for $1.4 million to keep it from shutting down….
November 4, 2016
Construction emissions from Sound Transit 3
I was contacted by a reporter earlier this week about fact-checking some numbers relating to the new light rail construction in Sound Transit 3. In particular, would the carbon emissions savings from shifting car travel to light rail be enough to offset the emissions associated with constructing the light rail system? Especially when we consider…
October 31, 2016
Do ride-sourcing drivers discriminate against passengers?
New research by the Sustainable Transportation Lab and collaborators at MIT and Stanford has found that racial and, to a lesser degree, gender discrimination continue to be problems in the transportation sector. There is a long and shameful history of taxis discriminating against black passengers, whether by refusing to stop for them, or avoiding entire…
October 24, 2016
Does Uber equitably serve different types of neighborhoods?
As new mobility services occupy a growing niche in urban transportation, one important question is whether these services are providing equitable access for diverse communities. There are many ways that inequity or discrimination could arise in the provision of these services, and Ryan Hughes and I have recently published a paper in the Journal of…
October 18, 2016
The Simpsons predict the future… of transportation
In The Simpsons fandom, there exists a group that looks at all of the times that The Simpsons have predicted the future, including Trump running for president. One such example that they seemed to have missed is in episode 220 (“Maximum Homerdrive”, from way back in 1999). when Homer falls asleep behind the wheel of…
September 30, 2016
Sustainable Transportation Lab goes to the ballgame
On September 29, the Sustainable Transportation Lab headed to Safeco Field (via the Link Light Rail, of course) to watch the Seattle Mariners take on the Oakland A’s. It was a chance for new and continuing students and recent alumni to get to know one another. With the Mariners in the wildcard race, it was…
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