Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations
Our ability to get from Point A to Point B is something lots of us take for granted. But transporting people and products across town or across the country every day is neither simple nor easy. Join us as we explore the challenges on Thinking Transportation, a podcast about how we get ourselves — and the things we need — from one place to another. Every other week, an expert from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute or other special guest will help us dig deep on a wide range of topics. Find out more: https://tti.tamu.edu/thinking-transportation/
Episodes
90 episodes since 2021
Revisited: Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.
With National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 15-21) just around the corner, it seemed a good time to revisit our interview with Mark Willis from almost exactly one year ago. This is the week in which the trucking industry celebrates the ...
September 10, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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25:27
Celebrating a Lifetime Storyteller: Bernie Fette passes the baton to our podcast's new host, Allan Rutter.
This 89th episode of Thinking Transportation is a landmark event. Host Bernie Fette, who is retiring from service to the state of Texas after more than 30 years, is passing the podcast hosting baton to Allan Rutter, TTI's Freight Pract...
August 27, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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35:21
Not So Fast! Can driver behavior influence how speed limits are set?
Factors that determine speed limits on a given roadway have a lot to do with physical conditions along the route, but how fast drivers want to go figures into the equation, too.
August 15, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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29:44
Revisited: At the Intersection of Engineering and Psychology -- How a diverse team manages special event traffic.
When special events set new records for attendance, they tend to do the same for roadway gridlock. To ensure success, experts rely on the right mix of traffic planning and outreach.
July 30, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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24:51
The Never Ending Story? Why road projects take so long to complete.
Building a new highway involves a complex and painstaking process, one that begins years before the folks in hard hats and orange vests arrive on the scene.
July 16, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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29:12
Anchors Aweigh: How maritime interests occupy a vital link in the freight industry.
We rely upon waterborne shipping for most of the products we buy and use every day. We hardly give that reliance any thought at all – until something goes wrong.
June 25, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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26:17
Is Traffic Back to Pre-COVID Levels? That depends on where you live.
It’s not enough to know that traffic is bad and getting worse. We also need to know where, when, and why. TTI Senior Research Scientist and urban mobility expert David Schrank joins us to discuss the "how" of answering those questions.
June 11, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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33:04
Revisited--Exit This Way: Research informing upgrades in hurricane evacuation planning.
As the 2024 hurricane season approaches again, climate experts across the United States are predicting an especially active season, driven largely by higher-than-average sea surface temperatures. This makes ever more important the research and ...
May 28, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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20:05
A Two-Edged Sword: In-vehicle technologies can either help us or hurt us.
As car makers focus on protecting drivers and passengers, do their computer-based innovations really make us safer, or might they in some cases compromise our safety?
May 14, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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37:01
Bhatt and Winfree: Two industry leaders and their shared optimism for the future.
FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree reflect upon a wide range of mobility challenges and opportunities, with references to Star Wars, Dick Tracy and hair styles.
April 30, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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45:54
Will AI Help Us Realize Our Highest Hopes or Our Deepest Fears?
Artificial intelligence seeks to replicate the analytical and creative capabilities of the human brain. Perhaps that lofty ambition helps to explain why so many humans are leery of the idea.
April 16, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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32:10
More Transit Agencies Are Jumping on the Battery-Powered Bandwagon.
Cities working to become leaders in clean transportation are electrifying their bus fleets, and learning that the road to success can be a bumpy one.
April 02, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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28:47
Neil Pedersen Has a Question: Are we willing to stick our necks out?
The former leader of TRB may have stepped away from full-time employment, but he hasn’t stepped away entirely from the industry he has helped to guide for half a century.
March 19, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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46:23
Roadside Mysteries: When utilities pose unique challenges for roadway construction.
Every road construction project involves the hidden element of utilities in the right of way. That work isn’t necessarily as visible, but it’s every bit as consequential.
March 05, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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27:20
Is Public Transit Back to Pre-pandemic Normal? That depends on where you look.
The transit industry is better equipped to work through a public health crisis than it was before COVID-19. And even as it faces persistent challenges, public transportation continues to play a central role in everyday mobility.
February 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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32:22
Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?
Drivers over age 80 are more prone to serious and deadly crashes. As this population segment grows, researchers are working toward fresh countermeasures.
February 06, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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26:04
Behind the Wheel, What We Think and What We Do Can Define Who We Are.
Attitudes and behaviors related to driving reveal our traffic safety culture. Like other forms of culture, it has a way of changing over time— and not always for the better.
January 23, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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25:40
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How it’s easy to overlook our reliance on GPS.
With near-magical precision, GPS applications reliably guide multiple functions for us every moment of every day. But as they hold great promise, those applications also face vulnerabilities.
January 02, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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32:58
How to Ensure That US Infrastructure Remains Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts.
America’s infrastructure was built to last, but it wasn’t built to last forever. The Center for Infrastructure Renewal is focusing on how to ensure the resilience of the collective physical systems that America runs upon.
December 12, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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17:54
Can Imperiled Creatures Survive and Thrive amid Widespread Roadway Construction?
The well-being of creatures protected under the Endangered Species Act is a high priority for transportation agencies. That’s good for the critters, and for agency operations as well.
November 28, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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39:36
Can Solar Panels in Highway ROW Be the Next Big Step in Renewable Energy?
In using roadsides for the collection of solar power, can we succeed in achieving both environmental and economic goals? It all depends on how you define “success.”
November 07, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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25:22
We Rank the 2,138 Most Congested Roads in Texas. Is your daily drive on the list?
Traffic congestion is relative, because what constitutes gridlock depends a lot on where you live. Clearly, though, it’s no longer just a big city problem.
October 24, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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29:23
Revisited--Big and Bright: The view from TxDOT CEO Marc Williams’ Chair.
As we gather for the 97th Annual Transportation Short Course, we're revisiting our interview with Texas Department of Transportation CEO Marc Williams from approximately one year ago. Despite some Texas-sized mobility challenges and worldwide s...
October 10, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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38:28
Alone in the Crowd: Long-haul truckers fight isolation through satellite connections.
Thousands of long-haul truck drivers in America share a common and constant challenge of remoteness. They find insight and community through the vast reach of satellite radio.
September 26, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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25:18