Workforce Challenges in Implementing Transportation System Management and Operations within Caltrans

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

Principal Investigator

Areas of Expertise

Campus(es)

UC Berkeley

Project Summary

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been an infrastructure-building agency since its inception, but the agency is now transitioning to managing transportation systems and building partnerships to improve transportation performance. This includes focusing on a system at the corridor level which requires improved state, regional, local, and interagency planning and support, as well as connecting and managing all modes of transport (e.g., freeway, arterials, transit, parking, bicycle/pedestrian networks, and traveler information). As part of the Connected Corridors I-210 Pilot in the San Gabriel Valley (northeast of Los Angeles), the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH) program at UC Berkeley has been assisting with the institutional changes, including people and policies, needed to ensure that Caltrans has success with the transition. Key research questions that will be explored, include: How does Caltrans use existing and new staff to manage corridors? What new job titles and roles/responsibilities are needed? How can the changes being made in Caltrans District 7 translate to other Caltrans districts, and other agencies, that are planning corridor management projects? What are the benchmarks for success? How can corridor management integrate with Transportation System Management and Operations (TSM&O) principles, which include key activities in safety, performance, reliability, and environmental sustainability? What institutional changes need to be implemented so that the transportation assets are more integrated; the systems can be monitored in real time and even be proactive; and coordinated with planning, operations, and maintenance?

policy brief

Key Challenges in Sanitizing Transportation Data to Protect Sensitive Information

Publication Date

November 1, 2021

Author(s)

Areas of Expertise

Abstract

As new mobility services such as ridehailing and shared micromobility have grown, so has the quantity of data available about how and where people travel. Transportation data provides government agencies and transportation companies with valuable information that can be used for identifying traffic patterns, predicting infrastructure needs, informing city planning, and other purposes. However, the data may also contain sensitive information that can identify individuals, the beginning and ending points of their trips, and other details that raise concerns about personal privacy. Even if a traveler’s name and address is suppressed, adversaries could use other parts of the information such as trip origin and destination to learn an individual’s identity and their habits. Similarly, another transportation company competing with the company that collected the data could potentially steal their customer base if they can use the data to obtain proprietary information such as frequent dropoff/pick-up locations, vehicle positioning, travel routes, or algorithms for assigning vehicles to clients.

research report

Sanitization of Transportation Data: Policy Implications and Gaps

Publication Date

November 1, 2021

Author(s)

Areas of Expertise

Abstract

Data about mobility provides information to improve city planning, identify traffic patterns, detect traffic jams, and route vehicles around them. This data often contains proprietary and personal information that companies and individuals do not wish others to know, for competitive and personal reasons. This sets up a paradox: the data needs to be analyzed, but it cannot be without revealing information that must be kept secret. A solution is to sanitize the data—i.e., remove or suppress the sensitive information. The goal of sanitization is to protect sensitive information while enabling analyses of the data that will produce the same results as analyses of unsanitized data. However, protecting information requires that sanitized data cannot be linked to data from other sources in a manner that leads to desensitization. This project reviews typical strategies used to sanitize datasets, the research on how some of these strategies are unsuccessful, and the questions that must be addressed to better understand the risks of desensitization.

research report

Workforce Challenges in Implementing Transportation System Management and Operations within Caltrans

Publication Date

November 2, 2018

Author(s)

Joe Butler, Michelle Harrington

Areas of Expertise

Abstract

Caltrans has traditionally focused on designing, building, and maintaining California’s large freeway network. Lately, a stronger focus is being placed on real-time transportation network operation, which requires the use of real-time data and decision support software tools. This transition represents a cultural shift for Caltrans, and its organizational structures and staffing processes are not yet in place to support the effort. This report explores major impediments to hiring data analysts and software engineers, including lack of understanding among current management personnel in regard to the need for data analysts and software engineers, barriers for Caltrans Operations to directly hire IT/software personnel, lack of interest among Caltrans engineering unions to include software engineers as members, a general belief that software engineers are not “real” engineers and concern that the state will not be able to hire software engineers due to high salary demands. Opportunities for addressing barriers include developing appropriate recruitment strategies for software-related positions, educating agency personnel on the need for data analysis and software skills, changing the requirements for positions in Caltrans traffic operations, and establishing a management team to coordinate and support these efforts.

research report

Sustainable Transportation Terms: A Glossary

Publication Date

September 1, 2017

Author(s)

Albee Wei, Michelle Byars, Susan Handy

Areas of Expertise

Abstract

One of the challenges in developing a consensus around the goal of sustainable transportation is a lack of consensus around the terms used to define and describe sustainable transportation. The goal in this project was to assemble a list of relevant terms and provide clear and simple definitions. Because it is not uncommon to find multiple terms used to refer to the same concept, the report also aims to differentiate the preferred terms from less preferred terms and terms that should not be used for various reasons. Terms were identified based on a review of documents from transportation agencies, websites and publications from transportation organizations, and papers published by the academic community, and the list in consultation with Ellen Greenberg, Deputy Director of Sustainability at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Terms are grouped into categories based on purpose, mode, destinations, community type, and others. The intent of this work is to create a useful resource for those working to advance sustainable transportation