Researchers in Maryland received a multimillion-dollar grant to improve transportation in Baltimore.A team of University of Maryland researchers is partnering with public officials, transit advocacy groups and other universities to improve transportation options for Baltimore City residents, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods that rely on bus and light rail systems.Be an Advocate for pubLic TransportatiOn (BALTO) joins University of Maryland faculty from the College of Information Studies (iSchool) and the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation with researchers at Morgan State University and the University of Baltimore. Together, they will develop and deploy a digital toolkit designed to spark community-informed, actionable transportation solutions for eight yet-to-be-identified neighborhoods in Baltimore, a statement said.The four-year project, which launches Oct. 1, is funded by a $2.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Smart and Connected Communities Program. It builds on the team’s prior work in 2017, also funded by the NSF, which identified barriers to technology, transportation and opportunity in west Baltimore.A goal of the project is to identify and address socioeconomic disparities within large public transit systems, said Vanessa Frias-Martinez, an associate professor in the iSchool and principal investigator of the project.Frias-Martinez said the urban transit planning process often overlooks the needs of lower-income residents — people who require multiple bus transfers with long wait times, supplemented by a light rail trip or the use of a rented electric scooter.”With the information supplied by our digital toolkit, city and state transit officials will be able to better engage residents in a collaborative effort to understand the geographic mobility challenges of those with limited means, and then take steps to address these challenges,” she said.Frias-Martinez said several smartphone apps have attempted to address these gaps, but they often fail to collect all multimodal trip information or consider the economic feasibility of multiple transfers.The research team is working to develop BALTOApp, the first of three digital platforms that make up the BALTO toolkit. The app will be used by a select group of transit riders, collecting detailed GPS and survey data of their trips, providing researchers for the first time with the full spectrum of the complexities faced by these urban travelers.”We need to view these performance metrics through an equity lens,” said Celeste Chavis, an associate professor in the Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies at Morgan State University and a co-PI on the project. “While an Uber can whisk commuters to their destinations, it’s often untenable for those with limited incomes. And the subway system isn’t a good option for people who work off-hours. Better user-data can help us identify solutions.”Two Baltimore-based transit advocacy groups — the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance and Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition — will assist the Housing Authority of Baltimore City in the recruitment of 1,000 residents from lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods to take part in the study.”We recognize that residents in different areas of Baltimore have distinct transit needs, and our hope for this project is that it will help us make data-driven decisions on how to best focus our resources,” said Teddy Krolik, chief of engagement at the Maryland Transit Administration.Once the data is collected, the BALTO researchers intend to use new technologies in data science and machine learning to analyze and identify statistically relevant patterns that will be used by planning officials.”These tools have been designed to empower the transit resident from a study participant to an engaged citizen,” said Frias-Martinez.
Researchers in Maryland received a multimillion-dollar grant to improve transportation in Baltimore.
A team of University of Maryland researchers is partnering with public officials, transit advocacy groups and other universities to improve transportation options for Baltimore City residents, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods that rely on bus and light rail systems.
Be an Advocate for pubLic TransportatiOn (BALTO) joins University of Maryland faculty from the College of Information Studies (iSchool) and the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation with researchers at Morgan State University and the University of Baltimore. Together, they will develop and deploy a digital toolkit designed to spark community-informed, actionable transportation solutions for eight yet-to-be-identified neighborhoods in Baltimore, a statement said.
The four-year project, which launches Oct. 1, is funded by a $2.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Smart and Connected Communities Program. It builds on the team’s prior work in 2017, also funded by the NSF, which identified barriers to technology, transportation and opportunity in west Baltimore.
A goal of the project is to identify and address socioeconomic disparities within large public transit systems, said Vanessa Frias-Martinez, an associate professor in the iSchool and principal investigator of the project.
Frias-Martinez said the urban transit planning process often overlooks the needs of lower-income residents — people who require multiple bus transfers with long wait times, supplemented by a light rail trip or the use of a rented electric scooter.
“With the information supplied by our digital toolkit, city and state transit officials will be able to better engage residents in a collaborative effort to understand the geographic mobility challenges of those with limited means, and then take steps to address these challenges,” she said.
Frias-Martinez said several smartphone apps have attempted to address these gaps, but they often fail to collect all multimodal trip information or consider the economic feasibility of multiple transfers.
The research team is working to develop BALTOApp, the first of three digital platforms that make up the BALTO toolkit. The app will be used by a select group of transit riders, collecting detailed GPS and survey data of their trips, providing researchers for the first time with the full spectrum of the complexities faced by these urban travelers.
“We need to view these performance metrics through an equity lens,” said Celeste Chavis, an associate professor in the Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies at Morgan State University and a co-PI on the project. “While an Uber can whisk commuters to their destinations, it’s often untenable for those with limited incomes. And the subway system isn’t a good option for people who work off-hours. Better user-data can help us identify solutions.”
Two Baltimore-based transit advocacy groups — the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance and Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition — will assist the Housing Authority of Baltimore City in the recruitment of 1,000 residents from lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods to take part in the study.
“We recognize that residents in different areas of Baltimore have distinct transit needs, and our hope for this project is that it will help us make data-driven decisions on how to best focus our resources,” said Teddy Krolik, chief of engagement at the Maryland Transit Administration.
Once the data is collected, the BALTO researchers intend to use new technologies in data science and machine learning to analyze and identify statistically relevant patterns that will be used by planning officials.
“These tools have been designed to empower the transit resident from a study participant to an engaged citizen,” said Frias-Martinez.
