Browsing by Author "Cao, Jason"

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The ABC Parking Ramps in Minneapolis: A Unique Past. A Visionary Future.
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2019-03) Douma, Frank; Cao, Jason; Corcoran, Heidi; Fan, Yingling; Lari, Adeel; Rohde, Barbara; Alarcon, Frank; Dame, Rachel; Karner, Kevin
In 1992 the ABC Ramps were completed in downtown Minneapolis as part of the I-394 construction project. The purpose of the ramps is to have programs that support efforts to reduce congestion and improve air quality by reducing SOV trips from the I-394 corridor. At the time the ramps were built, the ramp goals were aligned with the city of Minneapolis' parking system goals and the I-394 Corridor Management Plan. Since that time, however, the transportation modes, technologies, and plans surrounding the ramps have changed as well as the travel behaviors of the users. As the ramps reach the midpoint of their design life, this study examined the programs, policies, and goals developed for the ramps to ensure they continue to address current transportation challenges and align with regional stakeholder's goals and emerging trends, behaviors, and technology. The project culminated in a series of recommendations with implementation strategies for the ABC ramp management to improve its practice towards reducing congestion and improving air quality in downtown Minneapolis through innovative programming and marketing.
After Study of The Bus Rapid Transit A Line Impacts
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2018-12) Tomhave, Benjamin; Zhang, Yufeng; Khani, Alireza; Hourdos, John; Dirks, Peter; Olsson, Jack; Tao, Tao; Wu, Xinyi; Cao, Jason
In response to the limited awareness surrounding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the A Line, this study provides answers to questions regarding the operation and public perception of the A Line in the Twin Cities region, Minnesota. Two traffic scenarios were studied, one for high-volume oversaturated traffic during the Minnesota State Fair, and a second for normal operating conditions. For both scenarios, intersection queue length and traffic flow rate were compared before and after an A Line bus. It was found that in both time periods (Fair and non- Fair), the dwelling of an A Line bus during a green traffic signal did not have a statistically significant impact on intersection queue length or traffic-flow rate at either of the two researched stations. From an analysis of the 2016 On-Board Survey, it was determined that passengers are more satisfied by the overall service of the A Line than local buses while there is not a significant difference in overall satisfaction compared to express buses, light rail and commuter rail. The top three important service attributes to overall satisfaction are “paying my fare is easy,” “hours of operation,” and “handling of concerns/complaints.” It is recommended that the transit agency improve the attributes that have higher relative influences and lower mean performances. Based on this criterion, the attributes that should be given priority are “shelter/station conditions and cleanliness” and “behaviors of other passengers and atmosphere on board.”
Agglomeration Economies
(Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, 2010-01) Cao, Jason; Iacono, Michael; Levinson, David; Cui, Mengying
Economists have long recognized the importance of urban areas as focal points of economic production and exchange. In recent decades, they have also come to better understand the productivity benefits of firms being located in large urban areas. A variety of advantages may accrue to firms that cluster together in large cities relating, for example, to access to specialized labor, information spillovers, and interactions with customers or suppliers. These types of advantages are often referred to as examples of agglomeration economies in urban areas. Empirically, these gains have been shown to be potentially quite large, with reviews of the literature suggesting that doubling the size of an urban area’s population may be associated with productivity gains on the order of several percentage points. While economic research on this topic has greatly advanced our understanding of the concepts, theory, and likely quantitative implications for urban economies, there has been comparatively little emphasis on the spatial nature of agglomeration economies within urban areas. This is an important distinction, as different sources of agglomeration economies may have different spatial characteristics, and some may be sensitive to transport costs in ways that can be affected by the performance of urban transportation networks. Our research was an effort to link these concepts by operationalizing two specific types of agglomeration economies, localization and urbanization economies, and to investigate their relationship to employment density across several economic sectors within the Twin Cities.
Challenges and opportunities of autonomous vehicles to urban planning: Investigation into transit and parking
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-10) Wu, Xinyi; Douma, Frank; Cao, Jason
Using a series of qualitative approaches, this report examines the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles (AV) on transit and parking systems. A literature review helped us identify three orders of general impacts caused by the development of AV, as well as their specific effects on transit and parking. Based on the results of the literature review, we organized two focus groups and held in-depth discussions regarding the impacts of AV with planning practitioners from the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. The analytical results showed that opinions differ regarding what AV's specific effects might look like. Nevertheless, all of the literature as well as participants of the focus groups agreed that AV will have significant impacts and corresponding planning policies need to be developed.
Comparing importance-performance analysis and three-factor theory in assessing rider satisfaction with transit
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2017) Cao, Jason; Cao, Xiaoshu
Transit ridership depends on its quality of service. Many studies have analyzed rider satisfaction surveys to explore important service attributes and/or identify improvement priorities. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is capable of serving both purposes. However, it assumes that service attributes have a symmetric influence on rider satisfaction. To relax the assumption, this study applies three-factor theory to classify service attributes into basic, performance, and excitement factors. Using the 2013 data of bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), and metro transit riders from Guangzhou, China, it compares the results from two alternative IPA and two applications of the three-factor theory. Explicit IPA and implicit IPA classify service attributes somewhat differently but produce similar improvement priorities. For the three-factor theory, the importance grid yields more plausible results than regression with dummy variables. This study further concludes divergent improvement priorities for different services: comfort while waiting at station/stop and service reliability for bus; safety while waiting, safety while riding, and comfort while waiting for BRT; and spatial coverage for metro transit. If resources are abundant, transit agencies could also improve customer service for bus and comfort while riding for BRT.
Demographic and Behavioral Differences between Hiawatha Light-Rail and Other Transit Riders (Research Brief)
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2009-10) CTS; Cao, Jason
This two-page research brief summarizes Understanding Transportation Impacts of Transitways: Demographic and Behavioral Differences between Transitway Riders and Other Transit Riders (CTS 09-16) which examines the profile of transit riders in the Twin Cities and explores the environmental factors influencing mode choice of access to transitways. Researchers compared demographic and behavioral differences in riders of light rail, local buses, express buses, and premium express buses. Light-rail transit balances efficiency and equity by serving both riders who depend on transit and those who use transit by choice.
The effects of pedestrian and bicycle exposure on crash risk in Minneapolis
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2021) Tao, Tao; Lindsey, Greg; Cao, Jason; Wang, Jueyu
Exposure to risk is a theoretically important correlate of crash risk, but many safety performance functions (SPFs) for pedestrian and bicycle traffic have yet to include the mode-specific measures of exposure. When SPFs are used in the systematic approach to assess network-wide crash risk, the omission of the exposure potentially could affect the identification of high-risk locations. Using crash data from Minneapolis, this study constructs and compares two sets of SPFs, one with pedestrian and bicycle exposure variables and the other without, for network-wide intersection and mid-block crash models. Inclusion of mode-specific exposure variables improves model validity and measures of goodness-of-fit and increases accuracy of predictions of pedestrian and bicycle crash risk. Including these exposure variables in the SPFs changes the distribution of high-risk locations, including the proportion of high-risk locations in low-income and racially concentrated areas. These results confirm the importance of incorporating exposure measures within SPFs and the need for pedestrian and bicycle monitoring programs to generate exposure data.
Exploring correlates of passenger satisfaction and service improvement priorities of the Shanghai-Nanjing High Speed Rail
(2018) Zhen, Feng; Cao, Jason; Tang, Jia
Assessing passenger satisfaction is essential to enhancing loyalty and increasing ridership on high speed rail (HSR). Many studies explore passenger satisfaction with transit and conventional railway, but there are only a few that look at HSR. Although the HSR studies provide information on the relationship between service quality and passenger satisfaction, few identify the attributes that have the largest impact or improvement priorities for existing HSR. This study employs multivariate regression and importance-performance analysis to identify influential attributes and service improvement priorities for the Shanghai-Nanjing HSR. We found that the most important correlates of passenger satisfaction were staff attitudes, convenience of ticket purchase, and ease of the access trip. In general, passengers are satisfied with HSR services, especially with the attributes that are critical to overall HSR satisfaction. However, we found that improving toilet sanitation and seat comfort on the Shanghai-Nanjing HSR would increase passenger satisfaction.
Exploring Strategies for Promoting Modal Shifts to Transitways
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-12) Cao, Jason; Fan, Yingling; Guthrie, Andrew; Zhang, Yi
Transitways represent large public investments whose positive impacts must be maximized whenever possible to justify the expenditures they entail. Prominent among those looked-for positive impacts is the encouragement of automobile-to-transit mode shifts by attracting increased transitway ridership. This study explores the impacts of travel time, travel cost, and population density on mode choice, using the 2010 Travel Behavior Inventory. We found a monetary value of in-vehicle travel time of $17.5/hour and a transfer penalty of $10, equivalent to 35 minutes in-vehicle travel time. Density, especially at destinations, has important effects, but travel time is the key to promote the shift to transit. The research also employs a Direct Ridership Model (DRM) to predict boardings at the station level as a function of transit-supportive policies. We find that station-area focused policies promoting affordable housing and sidewalks on all streets in station areas or entire cities have a significant and positive impact on ridership if there are sufficient potential destinations in the immediate station area, measured as the number of Google places within 100 meters. Based on our results, we stress the importance of station area affordable housing as a transit system efficiency measure, as well as for the social equity reasons it is usually encouraged. We recommend strengthening proaffordable housing policies and pro-sidewalk policies in Twin Cities station areas, supporting and encouraging for the neighborhood-scale commercial development that is required for their efficacy, and the continued implementation of pro-affordable housing policies and pro-sidewalk policies as the regional transitway system expands.
Exploring the interaction effect of poverty concentration and transit service on highway traffic during the COVID-19 lockdown
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2021) Tao, Tao; Cao, Jason
During COVID-19 lockdowns, transit agencies need to respond to the decline in travel but also maintain the essential mobility of transit-dependent people. However, there are a few lessons that scholars and practitioners can learn from. Using highway traffic data in the Twin Cities, this study applies a generalized additive model to explore the relationships among the share of low-income population, transit service, and highway traffic during the week that occurred right after the 2020 stay-at-home order. Our results substantiate that transportation impacts are spread unevenly across different income groups and low-income people are less able to reduce travel, leading to equity concerns. Moreover, transit supply influences highway traffic differently in areas with different shares of low-income people. Our study suggests that transportation agencies should provide more affordable travel options for areas with concentrated poverty during lockdowns. In addition, transit agencies should manage transit supply strategically depending on the share of low-income people to better meet people’s mobility needs.
Exploring the Walking Tolerance of Transitway Users
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2017-09) Cao, Jason; Lampe, Joseph; Zhang, Chen
To park or to develop is always a key question for transit station area planning. Planners are interested in a hybrid option: siting park-and- ride (P&R) facilities at the periphery of development around transitway stations. However, the literature offers little evidence on how far a P&R lot can be located from transitways while maximizing ridership and revenue. Using a stated preference survey of 568 P&R users in the Twin Cities, this study conducted several experiments to illustrate their walking tolerance and identify built environment attributes that influence the walking distance. Walking distance is much more important than intersection safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and building appearance in affecting P&R users’ choice. The average walking distance is three city blocks when the minimum walking distance is set as two blocks in the experiments. Intersection safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and building appearance help mitigate the disutility of walking distance. If all three characteristics are adequate, it seems that P&R users are willing to walk 1.8 blocks farther than their existing facilities. A further analysis shows that the effects of these four dimensions vary by transit type. The analysis of stated importance illustrates that when determining how far P&R users are willing to walk, they value snow clearance, street lighting, and intersection safety the most. In general, the quality of sidewalk network connecting transit stops and P&R facilities is the most important, followed by safety and security attributes associated with the walking environment. However, the aesthetic quality seems to be the least important for P&R users.
Framework for Measuring Sustainable Regional Development for the Twin Cities Region
(Center for Transportation Studies, 2010-01) Kirk, Kaydee; Tableporter, Jody; Senn, Andrew; Day, Jennifer; Cao, Jason; Fan, Yingling; Schively Slotterback, Carissa; Goetz, Edward; McGinnis, Laurie
Patterns of growth and development impact our environmental, social, economic, and cultural quality of life. In order to take steps toward sustainable development that will have a positive impact on these effects, this project, sponsored by the McKnight Foundation, identified a framework for an indicator system to measure sustainable regional development in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. The proposed framework includes a set of sustainability principles, indicators, measures, and accompanying data sources. It is anticipated that the McKnight Foundation will use this sustainability framework for internal organizational purposes with the possibility of the system being considered by other local geographies in the future. This framework could also serve as a tool to compare sustainability between the Twin Cities seven-county region and other comparable regions. The report provides a summary of the research, presents a final recommended set of performance measures for the indicators, makes recommendations for the selection of tier 1 and tier 2 indicators, and recommends a plan for next steps.
The gaps in satisfaction with transit services among BRT, metro, and bus riders: Evidence from Guangzhou
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2016) Cao, Jason; Cao, Xiaoshu; Zhang, Chen; Huang, Xiaoyan
This paper explores transit riders’ satisfaction with bus rapid transit (BRT) and compares BRT with conventional bus and metro services using revealed preference data from Guangzhou, China. A trivariate ordered probit model is developed to examine the effects of various service attributes on riders’ overall satisfactions with the three types of transit. We find that the top-three influential attributes for satisfaction with BRT are ease of use, safety while riding, and comfort while waiting. Moreover, transit riders are most satisfied with metro, followed by BRT and conventional bus. The top-five attributes that contribute to the difference in the overall satisfaction between BRT and metro are ease of use, comfort while riding, convenience of service, travel time, and comfort while waiting. Based on the findings, we propose specific strategies that can be used to enhance BRT quality of service.
Impact of Transitways on Travel on Parallel and Adjacent Roads and Park-and-ride Facilities
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2021-01) Webb, Alex; Tao, Tao; Khani, Alireza; Cao, Jason; Wu, Xinyi
Transitways such as light rail transit (LRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) provide fast, reliable, and high-capacity transit service. Transitways have the potential to attract more riders and take a portion of the auto mode share, reducing the growth of auto traffic. Park-and-ride (PNR) facilities can complement transit service by providing a viable choice for residents who are without walking access to transit or those who prefer better transit service such as LRT or BRT. In this study, we conducted two research tasks on Transitways services in the Twin Cities region in Minnesota; 1) to examine the impact of the operation of the Green Line LRT on the annual average daily traffic (AADT) of its adjacent roads, and 2) to estimate a PNR location choice model in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
The Impacts of LRT and Neighborhood Characteristics on Auto Ownership (Research Brief)
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-01) Cao, Jason; Center for Transportation Studies
This two-page research brief summarizes the objectives and findings for the research report CTS 15-10, The Influences of the Hiawatha LRT on Changes in Travel Behavior: A Retrospective Study on Movers.
Impacts of the Hiawatha Light-Rail Line on Commercial & Industrial Property Values in Minneapolis: A Transitway Impacts Research Program (TIRP) Research Brief
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2010-07) Cao, Jason
This two-page document summarizes report CTS 10-05, Impacts of the Hiawatha Light Rail Line on Commercial and Industrial Property Values in Minneapolis, a study of sale prices of commercial and industrial properties before and after completion of the Hiawatha light-rail line in Minneapolis to determine if proximity to a light-rail station affects property values.
The Impacts of Transportation Investment on Economic Growth in the Twin Cities
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2016-06) Cao, Jason; Iacono, Michael; Levinson, David; Cui, Mengying
The transportation system plays a critical role in fostering economic growth. Although previous studies have shed light on the impacts of transportation investments, their results are not readily adapted to predicting economic impacts of individual transportation projects. This study aimed to (1) investigate the impacts of transportation investments on economic growth (wages and employment) in the Twin Cities and (2) develop a method that practitioners can apply to predict economic growth resulting from investments in individual projects (as well as disinvestments). The capacity of such predictions is critical for the economy of the Twin Cities because transportation infrastructure lasts for decades once built. The method is expected to be used by practitioners of planning, programming, and finance at MnDOT and DEED, as well as at the Metropolitan Council. This study contributes to the base of knowledge by offering new empirical evidence on intra-urban patterns of agglomeration based on small-scale geographic data on job density from the Twin Cities. Our findings indicate that in general urbanization effects tend to dominate localization effects across a range of industries.
The Influences of the Hiawatha LRT on Changes in Travel Behavior: A Retrospective Study on Movers
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-11) Cao, Jason; Ermagun, Alireza
Following scant evidence for the effects of proximity to rail transit on auto use, we pinpoint the impacts of rail transit and neighborhood characteristics on both transit and car use in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. In this vein, we apply the structural equations modeling approach on 597 residents who moved into the Hiawatha light rail transit (LRT) corridor after it opened. Using a quasi-longitudinal design to compare the behavior of movers into the Hiawatha and control corridors, we found that the Hiawatha LRT acts as both a catalyst and a magnet. Movers into the Hiawatha corridor experience transit improvement, which increases transit use and reduces car use. The LRT also enables transit-liking people who were unable to realize their preference previously to relocate near the LRT. However, the LRT has no significant effects on changes in auto ownership. This suggests that besides transit infrastructure, planners should promote transit-friendly neighborhood characteristics.
The Interactions between E-Shopping and Store Shopping: A Case Study of the Twin Cities
(2010-08) Cao, Jason; Douma, Frank; Cleaveland, Fay; Xu, Zhiyi
This research aims to reveal the interactions between e-shopping and in-store shopping using a sample of Internet users in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. This report summarizes previous research on the interactions among spatial attributes, e-shopping, and travel behavior and makes eight recommendations for future research. Guided by the recommendations, this study adopts an innovative research design by integrating a conventional shopping survey with an activity diary. This report provides a detailed description of survey development and implementation and points out several common pitfalls in survey administration. This report also presents results on the interactions. Specifically, two ordered probit models and structural equation models were developed to investigate the influence of geography on online shopping usage and the influence of e-shopping on traditional shopping.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Risk and Equity: Implications for Street Improvement Projects
(2019-06) Lindsey, Greg; Tao, Tao; Wang, Jueyu; Cao, Jason
Transportation managers need information about crash risk and equity to prioritize investments in street networks. This case study uses data from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to illustrate how estimates of pedestrian and bicycle crash risk and assessments of inequities in the distribution of that risk can inform prioritization of street improvement projects. Crash numbers and frequencies for pedestrian and bicycle crashes at intersections and mid-blocks in Minneapolis are determined for the 2005-2017 period. New models of pedestrian and bicycle crash risk at both intersections and mid-blocks that control for exposure are introduced and used to predict crashes at all intersections and mid-blocks in the city. Statistical tests are used to assess the equity of distribution of estimated crash risk between areas of concentrated poverty with majority-minority populations and other areas in the city. Crash indexes based on predicted crashes are used to illustrate how increased emphases can be placed on pedestrian and bicycle safety in street improvement rankings. Results show that pedestrian and bicycle crash risk is correlated with exposure, that different factors affect crash risk at intersections and mid-blocks, and that these factors differ for pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Results also show that mean crash risk is higher in neighborhoods with lower incomes and majority-minority populations. For street improvement projects in the city, different rankings result when segments are ranked according to modeled pedestrian and bicycle crash risk in addition to total crash rates based on historical numbers of crashes at particular locations. Results generally affirm efforts by the Minneapolis Department of Public Works to increase emphases on pedestrian and bicycle safety and equity in its prioritization of street improvements.

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