NEWS RESEARCH: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SPECIFIC TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY RESOURCES - TRANSPORTATION Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board

TRANSPORTATION FACTS n Transportation accounts for $980 billion of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product n Transportation accounts of 19% of the average household expenditures n The transportation system effects all our lives

SCOPE OF TRANSPORTATION n Multiple modes - aviation, railroads, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, maritime, pipelines, bicycles, public transit, logistic and freight transport n Multi-Disciplinary includes engineering, planning, environmental issues, economics, human factors

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

STATISTICAL INFORMATION

SAFETY INFORMATION

MODAL INFORMATION

TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATIONS n Modal associations - Air Transport Association, American Trucking Associations, American Public Transportation Association, Association of American Railroads n Associations for all aspects -National Asphalt Pavement Association, Portland Cement Association n Good Information but remember biases

DATABASES

TRIS n Largest and comprehensive resource on transportation information n Over 500,000 records of published and on- going transportation n For over 35 years has been one of the major resources on transportation n Available through Dialog (File 63) and TRANSPORT product from SilverPlatter

TRIS ONLINE n Web version of TRIS available through the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ National Transportation Library n Contains all of TRIS except European ITRD File and Research in Progress n Provides links to full text and document delivery sources

SCENARIO 1 Research Request: Two kids jumped out the back of a moving school bus. Can we get bus specifications? Specifically, how far is the drop from the emergency exit?

SCHOOL BUS EXITS n GOVERNMENT INFORMATION – Federal Government n NHTSA n CFR - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards – State Government (Florida Dept of Education) n Associations – School Bus Information Council – National Association of Pupil Transportation n Databases (ERIC and TRIS)

SCENARIO 2 Research Scenarios: The big story that comes immediately to mind is the state of the nation's passenger air transport system. It's a huge national story and increasingly a major regional story as well as we all feel the personal impact of delays and the economic impact of an air transport system grinding to a crawl.

AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM n FEDERAL INFORMATION – Office of Airline Information – Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs – Federal Aviation Administration n ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATION n DATABASES - Magazines, news articles, bibliographic

SCENARIO 3 I think it's obvious to anyone who drives in a major urban center that while the traffic just keeps getting worse there seem to be few new highways to meet the demand. How can we best track and research this growing economic and quality of life problem? What is the economic impact? Why have transportation alternatives failed and how can we identify the causes and those responsible? Again, a very complex story with so many aspects that need to be researched and constantly monitored to adequately report.

SCENARIO 3 n Texas Transportation Mobility Study n The Transportation Road Program n AAA n TRB n Local governments n Databases

SCENARIO 4 Need information on the Travel & Transportation Reform Act

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION REFORM ACT n Thomas - text of law and legislative history n Department of Transportation Web Site n General Services Administration

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