Three vibrant sections depict urban scenes: a train station, a roundabout, and a busy intersection.

Projects

The National Center for Sustainable Transportation has funded a variety of research grants, organized by our three research themes (Infrastructure Provision; Travel Demand; and Vehicle Technology), and by project type (applied research projects, white papers / research synthesis, seed grants, translational projects, dissertation grants, and graduate student-led research). 

View Projects Awarded Prior to 2025

Transit-Oriented Development Ridership Calculator - Phase 1

  • Principal Investigator Susan Pike, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project will lay the groundwork for creating a calculator for estimating the ridership impacts of Transit-Oriented Development through reviewing the existing literature on the topic and identifying an actionable plan and concrete model structure to implement the calculator.
Project Status
In Progress

Accounting for fare evasion in estimates of transit ridership

  • Principal Investigator Kari E. Watkins, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project will assess and document methods used to determine Unlinked Passenger Trips and Passenger Miles Traveled at transit agencies across California, including sources of potential error such as fare evasion.
Project Status
In Progress

How Do People Receive Information About Public Transit?

  • Principal Investigator Kari E. Watkins, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This research aims to explore how both transit riders and non-riders access public transit information for the purpose of planning and taking trips on transit
Project Status
In Progress

Monitoring Active Transportation Demand and Safety with Computer Vision

  • Principal Investigator Dillon Fitch-Polse, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This research will validate video- and LiDAR-based sensors to collect active transportation count data for modeling system level active transportation volume in Davis, California as a pilot for other cities and agencies.
Project Status
In Progress

Lessons Learned on Mobility as a Service (MaaS): Exploring Opportunities and Barriers for the U.S. Context

  • Principal Investigator Giovanni Circella, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project will review Mobility as a Service (MaaS) experience from abroad and investigate the lessons learned on the way MaaS works, the various levels of integration possible on the MaaS platform, the type of transportation services that are offered, and the way (bundle) payments and fare integration are handled.
Project Status
In Progress

Advanced Sustainable Transportation Workforce Development Initiative in California’s Inland Empire

  • Principal Investigator Matthew Barth, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Riverside
The project will launch a comprehensive Advanced Sustainable Transportation Workforce Development Initiative for California’s Inland Empire, pulling together a variety of existing educational programs, developing these programs further into a cohesive vehicle/infrastructure training program, and creating a coalition of local manufacturers in this advanced vehicle space.
Project Status
In Progress