TMIP Annual Report October 2013 - September 2014

TMIP Major Initiatives

TMIP Webinar

In order to support TMIP's mission and goals, two categories of web-delivered seminars ("webinars") were designed: the Web Knowledge and Information Exchange (WKIE), in which an agency or professional communicates a specific project or subject-related experience; and Workshops Over the Web (WOW) webinars, which involve technical subject matter capacity building.

WKIE webinars provide a nationwide virtual platform on which stakeholders may impart knowledge and insight from relevant experiences. WKIE webinars are held on current topics of interest to the transportation modeling, simulation, and analysis communities. WKIE is composed of both one-day webinars and multi-day webinar series.

WOW webinars are typically organized for highly complex topics, such as Land Use and Activity-Based Modeling, which were delivered as eight- and twelve-part sessions, respectively.

TMIP records all sponsored webinars and makes the content available to users in the Recorded Webinar section of the TMIP Online Community of Practice (TMIP|COP) available at: http://tmip.org/.

Audio-video recordings, and an Instructor's Manual that includes all of the presentation slides in the series with complete speaker notes and written transcripts of the questions and answers from each session, are available for download on the TMIP|COP website http://tmip.org/. The recorded webinars are also available via TMIP News. There are currently more than 70 recorded webinars on many different topics related to transportation planning; these range in length from one to two and a half hours in the TMIP webinar archive.

Performance Period Accomplishments

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are required by Federal law to develop regional transportation plans through the estimation of future travel supply and demand and the analysis of transportation investment impacts.

During the performance period (October 1 2013 to September 30 2014), twelve webinars were convened as part of TMIP Web Knowledge and Information Exchange (WKIE). Participation in each of the twelve sessions varied, but was often close to the maximum of 100 meeting room connections permitted by the regular FHWA license.

Table 2 provides more details on the 12 sessions held in this performance period.

A large number of agencies responded with positive feedback in the evaluation polls conducted at the end of each individual webinar session. Participant feedback, via the participant poll slides following each webinar, indicated immense public support.

Contributions to Program

TMIP webinars provide a great opportunity to stay current on all aspects of travel analysis related issues. Transportation technical analysts and planners across the nation gain insights on how TMIP webinar presenters work with emerging data, transitional data and travel demand models to meet the new transportation challenges.

TMIP webinars played a unique role in achieving the TMIP mission by efficiently fulfilling both TMIP Outreach and Agency Support goals. These webinar sessions were effective in imparting knowledge of current and emerging practices in data analysis, activity based, freight and analytical modeling techniques to state, regional and local agencies as noted by Mr. Ali Afshar. The recorded webinar sessions are available online and through TMIP News, and may serve as a source of reference, information, and expert advice for agencies planning.

TMIP Peer Review Program

The Peer Review Program began in April 2003 with the objective of providing:

• Assistance from peer experts to improve forecast models in high-priority areas;
• Advice on how to proceed with model improvement activities;
• Recommendations on known modeling weaknesses; and
• Comments and advice for modeling prospective policy initiatives.

TMIP works collaboratively with the transportation modeling community to improve information sharing and support good available tools, data, and methods. The purpose of the Peer Review Program is to facilitate a process whereby leading practitioners in the fields of transportation, land-use, and air quality planning and modeling can provide guidance to ensure agencies are developing technical tools, procedures, and processes that meet an agency's needs while also satisfying Federal, state, and local planning requirements. TMIP's Peer Review Program provides an agency with the opportunity to elicit recommendations for addressing its current modeling challenges and those expected to arise due to growth and/or transportation policy changes.

TMIP supports peer reviews by assisting agencies in subject-specific panel assembly, logistics, and funding; documentation of the peer review meetings; and preparation of a final report that summarizes the review for the host agency. Web-conference technology is now also used in some cases to convene part of the peer review as a virtual pre-meeting in addition to the day(s)-long meetings held in person at the host agency. Peer reviews are customized to meet the specific needs of the host agency, but reviews often consist of:

• A one- to two-day meeting with four or five travel modeling experts, host agency planning staff, and other stakeholders;
• Documentation of the agency's model for panelists to review before the meeting;
• Questions or issues for peer panelists to address in their recommendations;
• A final report on the peer review meeting that includes all details and recommendations for tools and their application obtained during the peer review meetings;
• An action plan developed by the host agency in response to the peer recommendations;
• Implementation of recommendations from the host agency; and
• Self-evaluation of progress by the host agency, which may be submitted to TMIP for review.

Performance Period Accomplishments

During the performance period, five peer reviews were convened. Table 3 provides the details on dates and locations.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

The objective of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) peer review was to seek background information and recommendations on how WSDOT should approach developing a statewide Washington travel demand forecast model. The information sought by WSDOT included:

• The purposes to which statewide travel models have been or could be applied;
• Key challenges in developing and applying statewide models;
• Resources required to develop a statewide model;
• Strategies for model development work planning;
• How economic data is used in the travel model or could be produced by components of the overall model framework.

Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments

The objective of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments' TMIP peer review was to seek guidance and recommendations on the following features of OKI's travel demand model, which is planned to be updated from a trip-based to a tour-based model:

• Reaffirm that the current trip-based model structure, procedures and results meets the needs of the agency;
• Identify any improvements that can be quickly implemented within OKI's existing data resources or suggest data that can be easily collected for application in the model; and
• Obtain guidance regarding their effort to transition to a tour-based model.

Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT)

Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) requested a second TMIP peer review to assist ADOT staff in identifying the best practices in statewide travel modeling for implementation in the AZTDM. The goal of the review was to enhance the methods employed in the AZTDM and to improve its utility for planning analyses at state, regional, and municipal levels.

Baltimore Metropolitan Council's (BMC)

The objective of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's (BMC) TMIP peer review was to seek guidance and recommendations on the following features of the BMC's activity-based travel demand model, which is currently under development:

• The sufficiency of the model framework, structure, and methodology to address identified regional policies of interest; and
• The model validation criteria, targets, and sensitivity testing.

Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA)

SHA's overall goal for model improvement and motivation for seeking a TMIP peer review was to continuously maintain and apply a model representative of the state of the practice in travel forecasting that equips the agency with the support needed for informed decision making throughout the state. The peer review was conducted in two in-person meetings: one full-day session including presentation of the current model, discussion based on proposed improvements, and panel member discussion and one half-day session consisting of additional panel discussion, a presentation of recommendations by the panelists, and identification of next steps. The results of each of these sessions and recommendations from the panel are presented in the final report.

The complete reports for each of the five Peer Review Panels conducted during the reporting period are available on the TMIP website, and can be accessed via:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/resources/peer_review_program/. The host agencies and dates of the peer review meetings convened during the reporting period are listed in Table 3.

Contributions to Program

The Peer Review Program has been successful in creating a venue for agencies to receive advice in the development of their planning tools and tool applications. Panel members have proven effectual in helping agencies to identify issues and provide feasible solutions, resulting in targeted and specific short- and long-term recommendations to guide major model improvement efforts. Additionally, the Peer Review Program not only delivers needed technical advice to the host agencies but also provides TMIP with valuable insights into the varying needs of State, regional, and local planning agencies.

Documentation of the peer review meetings, discussions, recommendations, implementation strategies, and post-review evaluations is not only useful to the host agency, but it also serves as a valuable resource to agencies with similar models, methodologies, or transportation concerns. By making these materials available, TMIP provides another resource to State, regional, and local agencies regarding travel model improvement and enhancement. These agency-based reports are particularly valuable as they present modeling applications in a familiar context for MPOs, state departments, and similar agencies. Furthermore, the TMIP Peer Review Program plays an important role in promoting good practice in transportation planning analysis, modeling, and simulation.

Subrat Mahapatra from MD State Highway Administration noted why he found TMIP Peer Review Program a valuable resource in his email feedback from January 27, 2014.

TMIP At A Glance Series

TMIP designed the At A Glance Series to provide an easy-to-read reference on transportation analysis, modeling, and simulation-related topics. The At A Glance series is scheduled to be released once a year and published as brochures for distribution to the TMIP community.

Performance Period Accomplishments

Smart Growth Area Planning Tool (SmartGAP) At A Glance was distributed to the TMIP Community in March 2014 using the FHWA Office of Planning, Environment and Realty's new GovDelivery service.[1]

Contributions to Program

The At A Glance brochure is another initiative that complements current TMIP activities. It serves as a compact resource that provides a comprehensive, quick reference on important topics to the TMIP Community. By highlighting relevant topics and providing a "30,000-foot view," the brochures are ideal for organizing technical information in an easy-to-read manner.

TMIP Agency Report Series

The objective of the TMIP Agency Snapshot Report Series is to facilitate the sharing of agency practices in selecting and applying analytical tools and methods to support data-driven, performance-based transportation planning. The Agency Snapshot Report Series identifies the data; analysis tools; resources necessary to develop, use, and maintain both the data and analysis tools; and the planning processes from which these data and analysis tools are utilized for each showcased agency. The series promotes tool enhancement by illustrating new, innovative, and good practices. The Agency Snapshot Report Series will highlight agency successes that provide information and examples to help other agencies thoughtfully identify appropriate available data, tools, and methods to meet their agency's analytical needs.

Performance Period Accomplishments

Within the 2013-2014 reporting period, the Oregon DOT is completed. The report is available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/publications/other_reports/oregon_snapshot/index.cfm.

Contributions to Program

One of the most essential and critical elements of the overall TMIP Program is technology transfer. The Agency Snapshot Report Series initiative accomplishes this through facilitating applied research related to transportation modeling, simulation, and analysis via tasks such as publishing reports and articles, conducting and publishing applied case studies, and providing working examples of models and technical documents.

The Agency Snapshot Report Series also presents an opportunity to provide more comprehensive and detailed information regarding technical data and data analysis processes in the context of a real-world agency. In particular, through this report series, TMIP will be able to promote good practices in the following areas:

• The data agencies collect and utilize to support planning.
• The analysis tools and methods used by agencies and the resources necessary to develop, use, and maintain them.
• Where in the agency planning processes these data and tools are utilized.
• Agency experience related to performance measurement and prediction.
• Emerging issues and challenges facing agencies.

TMIP Travel Analysis Toolbox

TRB Special Report 288 finds that

"… there is no single approach to travel forecasting or set of procedures that is "correct" for all applications or all MPOs. Travel forecasting tools developed and used by an MPO should be appropriate for the nature of the questions being posed by its constituent jurisdictions and the types of analysis being conducted."[2]

The objective of the TMIP Travel Analysis Toolbox (the Toolbox) is to provide access to a range of travel analysis related tools and serve as a reference resource for the selection and application of analytical tools and quantitative methods to support transportation planning decision making. The goal of the Toolbox is not to identify or create a single-or even a set of-ideal tools, but rather to provide processes, information, and examples to encourage agencies to select the appropriate tools and methods based on their analytical needs.

Performance Period Accomplishments

Over the course of the 2013-2014 reporting period, TMIP has published two white papers: Improving Existing Travel Models and Forecasting Processes and Managing Uncertainty and Risk in Travel Forecasting.

Contributions to Program

The Toolbox will be a critical resource for the TMIP Community, providing information on existing tools and quantitative methods used in travel analyses and developing new tools and methods for future application.

TMIP Online Community of Practice

The TMIP Online Community of Practice (TMIP|COP) (http://tmip.org/) includes the management of the TMIP email list, but it is also an extension and enhancement of the TMIP email list. The intent of TMIP|COP is to provide additional resources to TMIP Community Members.

A prominent component of the TMIP|COP is the TMIP-L email list. TMIP maintains the email list to promote the open discussion of issues related to transportation modeling, simulation, and analysis. The email list has over 1,600 subscribers representing travel forecasting professionals from around the globe.

Performance Period Accomplishments

Accomplishments during the 2013-2014 performance period involved: hosting and maintaining the TMIP|COP and hosting maintaining the TMIP-L email list.

Contributions to Program

The TMIP|COP provides additional resources to the TMIP community. The TMIP|COP's and TMIP-L email list enables TMIP to reach out to thousands of professionals around the globe and provide a platform for community members to connect with each other in a cost-effective way. Judy Clark[3] expressed her sentiment of why TMIP email list community is an integrated part of TMIP and perceived to be a valuable resource to TMIP community members.

TMIP Website

The TMIP website, located within the broader Department of Transportation (USDOT) and FHWA website, is the Program's primary web presence. The FHWA TMIP website is located at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/. The TMIP Website is designed as a general public access website to obtain information on TMIP initiatives. The website is a source for members, both inside and outside of the TMIP Community, to obtain information available through TMIP's offerings.

Performance Period Accomplishments

The TMIP Website is designed to inform the user community of news, events, and available resources for all of the TMIP initiatives. A simple navigation menu gives visitors the ability to easily locate information. Using each of the main subject headings, the pages clearly and concisely describe each initiative and provide hyperlinks to additional materials and websites. TMIP website saw approximately 136,400 visitors in the performance period. Table 4 shows the FY 2013-2014 TMIP Website statistics by month.

Contributions to Program

The TMIP Website is the face of the TMIP Program. The site is useful to agency staff as it illustrates the goals, objectives, and programs of the TMIP Program. It is also helpful in drawing agency awareness to the materials available.

[1] Smart Growth Area Planning Tool (SmartGAP) At A Glance document is available for download at:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tmip/publications/other_reports/smartgap/index.cfm

[2] METROPOLITAN TRAVEL FORECASTING: Current Practice and Future Direction, Transportation Research Board, 2007, Page 3

[3] October 17, 2013 Email Feedback