REGION II UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CENTER REGION II Marshak Hall, Room 910 Tel: 212-650-8050 New York, New Jersey, The City College of NY Fax: 212-650-8374 Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands New York, NY 10031 Website: www.utrc2.org TECHNICAL PROPOSAL COVER SHEET PROPOSAL TITLE: Innovative Travel Data Collection PURSUANT TO: Z-14-04 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Name: Mitchell L. Moss Title: Director, Rudin Center; Henry Hart Rice Professor of Urban Policy and Planning Address: 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212-992-9865; Fax: 212-995-4166; Email: [email protected] CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Name: Sarah Kaufman Title: Digital Manager Address: 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212-992-9865; Fax: 212-995-4166; Email: [email protected] Name: Anthony Townsend Title: Senior Research Fellow Address: 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212-992-9865; Fax: 212-995-4166; Email: [email protected] SPONSOR: NYMTC RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGER: Name: Marilyn Lopez Title: Program Administrator Address: 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212-992-9865; Fax: 212-995-4166; Email: [email protected] PROJECT DURATION: 8 months DATE SUBMITTED: September 24, 2014 CONSORTIUM MEMBERS City University of New York, Clarkson University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Hofstra University, Manhattan College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, New York University, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rowan University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rutgers University*, State University of New York, Stevens Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, The College of New Jersey, University of Puerto Rico *Member under SAFETEA-LU Legislation Table of Contents Part I: Technical and Management Submittal .............................................................................................. 3 3. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 3 4. Approach and Scope of Services ............................................................................................................... 4 Proposed Research Approach ................................................................................................................... 4 Deliverables............................................................................................................................................... 7 6. Experience ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Research .................................................................................................................................................... 8 Smart Cities ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Big Data and Social Media ..................................................................................................................... 9 Policy and Planning ............................................................................................................................. 10 Visualizations .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Events ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Key Project Personnel and Related Work ............................................................................................... 12 Sub-Consultants .................................................................................................................................. 15 7. Organization, Staffing and Schedule ....................................................................................................... 16 Project Organization and Staffing ........................................................................................................... 16 Project Schedule ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Curriculum Vitae ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Part II: Cost Submittal ................................................................................................................................. 19 2 Part I: Technical and Management Submittal 3. Executive Summary New Yorkers no longer limit their travels to commuting to and from work: they use transit all night, they travel off-peak with greater frequency, and they use multiple modes, including transit, taxis, cars, bikes and their feet. In fact, the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation found in 2013 that the Bedford Avenue subway station saw the same amount of use over a weekend as it had during the week, indicating an extended rush hour for the area.1 This off-hour mobility and on-the-go multi-modalism is made possible by the near-ubiquity of smartphones, GPS-enabled devices and social networks, which provide continuous information and connections; the members of the Millennial generation expect these provisions. These tools present an opportunity for transportation data collection and analysis of traffic movement, traveler behaviors and trip trends. The NYU Rudin Center for Transportation aims to evaluate these resources to assist the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council in achieving its goals of enhanced data collection and modeling. Using a literature review, surveys of Municipal Planning Organizations and public agencies, meetings with startups and policy research, the Rudin Center will produce a series of written reports highlighting the key research to date, original findings and a recommended technical strategy. The Rudin Center will build on its record of work in the areas of big data analysis, social media evaluations and technological forecasting, including Mitchell L. Moss’ analysis of Port Authority operations, Sarah Kaufman’s reports on open data, social media and transit, and Anthony Townsend’s acclaimed book, Smart Cities. We will draw from our research know-how and experience, industry knowledge and technological expertise to create an attainable strategy for NYMTC’s data collection and modeling goals. 1 “Rush Hour in Williamsburg…at 1 AM,” NYU Rudin Center Blog. http://wagner.nyu.edu/blog/rudincenter/rush- hour-in-williamsburg-at-1-am/ 3 4. Approach and Scope of Services Based on emerging trends in travel, the NYU Rudin Center will identify, analyze and propose current and innovative methods of transportation data collection. We will develop three written works on data collection costs and recommendations for NYMTC’s future modeling needs, described below. Proposed Research Approach The Rudin Center will determine current data collection methods in addition to emerging technologies, planned applications, and the policies governing them, as applicable to NYMTC. The work will commence with an initial factfinding workshop, in which NYMTC will inform the Rudin Center of its existing data collection and modeling practices, goals and interest areas. Using this information as a foundation, the Rudin Center will conduct four steps of research: 1. A crisp literature review of journals and media will determine commonly used and state-of- the-art tools for mobility data collection across the United States and abroad. The literature review will include trade publications from multiple industries analyzing the movement of individuals and vehicles: transportation logistics, retail, sports venues, parks and hospitals. 2. The Rudin Center will survey the technologies currently in practice and in planning stages at the regional planning and agency levels: A web-based survey of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and local agencies in the U.S. and major international cities will discover uses, best practices and needs of big data collection, analysis and modeling. o This survey will be conducted online using a third-party application such as SurveyMonkey, and reaching out to MPOs and agencies individually and through industry listservs. The survey will require organization and individual names for verification, and will ask survey questions about tools in use, 4 issues with data collection, and planned implementations of new tools. Results will be measured and reported in the white paper outlined below. The Rudin Center maintains strong relationships with numerous public transportation agencies; meetings with these agencies will help uncover their data practices and needs. The survey and meetings will assist in determining prevalent data collection measures, common pain points, and modeling techniques, particular to NYMTC’s needs. 3. The Rudin Center will investigate emerging and future technologies with individuals and companies at the forefront of technology development, with whom we regularly collaborate, consult and interact: We will host a series of conversations with startup companies working at the forefront of data collection and traveler information, including: Company Data Type(s) Data Collection Method Uber Traffic, trip data Taxi hails, trip tracking Bridj Traffic, trip data Ridesharing hails, trip tracking Placemeter Pedestrian