Viggiano Presents At MIT Transit Lab Reunion

Published
On September 22nd and 23rd, 2018, Cecilia Viggiano participated in the MIT Transit Lab Reunion and had the chance to hear from leaders across the country discuss issues ranging from data privacy to bus lanes, and from curb use to transit ridership loss.

 

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There was active debate about congestion pricing, shared mobility, and data sharing and standards. Participants heard public, private, and academic perspectives, with panelists including Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack, CTA President Dorval Carter, and UC Berkeley Professor Emerita Elizabeth Deakin.

Cecilia shared some of EDR Group’s work by presenting a poster entitled “The Value of Transit.” It summarizes EDR Group's work in evaluating public transit’s contribution to the economy. The team considers the impacts of transit spending, the monetary impacts of how transit shapes mobility, as well as follow-on or multiplier effects. They also identify markets served by transit, which highlight its role in getting people to jobs, doctor’s appointments, schools, and retail locations. Importantly, EDR Group evaluates the different impacts of transit on different demographic groups, to demonstrate transit’s role through an equity lens. This work can help transit agencies justify expenditures and funding requests to legislators, government officials, business communities, and the public.