October 9, 2025

UC ITS Launches New Round of Research to Shape California’s Transportation Future

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Through funding from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 1), the UC Institute of Transportation Studies (UC ITS) is launching a new slate of research projects aimed at advancing California’s transportation, climate, and equity goals.

This year’s portfolio features work to enhance roadway safety, develop innovative planning tools, reduce transportation emissions, improve public health, and integrate emerging technologies. Together, these projects demonstrate UC ITS’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that public investments and policies are grounded in rigorous research and deliver tangible benefits for communities across the state.

Explore the new projects launching this fall below.

Evaluate the Effects of California’s First Speed Camera Installation Using Telematics Data in San Francisco

Research Team:

Julia Griswold (lead), Sujin Lee, Matthew Raifman

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Airport Parking as Grid Assets: Optimal Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Management

Research Team:

Matthew D. Dean (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Assessing the Equity Legacy of Mega-Event Transit Investments: Accessibility Impacts of Los Angeles’ ‘28 by 28’ Projects

Research Team:

Daniel Rodriguez (lead), Gregório Luz

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Fair Miles: A Data-Informed Framework for Road Usage Pricing in California

Research Team:

Manxi Wu (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Co-Designing a Community Bicycle Lending Library in Santa Ana, CA

Research Team:

Elisa Borowski (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Trajectory Planning for Connected and Automated Vehicles in Work Zones

Research Team:

Pei (Peggy) Wang (lead), Xinwei Yang

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

CrossWise: A Scalable System for Intersection Classification and Safety Analysis

Research Team:

Maryam Hosseini (lead), Jon Atkins

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Enhancing Automated Vehicle Braking for Human Compatibility

Research Team:

Wenlong Jin (lead), Jooneui Hong

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Do Plans Converge? Tracking Local Planning in Response to State Transportation Goals

Research Team:

Jae Hong Kim (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Resilient Transportation Infrastructure for Post-Wildfire Debris Flow and Landslide Risk

Research Team:

Sriram Narasimhan (lead), Debasish Jana, Ertugrul Taciroglu, Idil Tanrisever, Idil Akin, Melis Fidansoy

UC Campus(es):

UCLA

Do Post-Pandemic Travel Shifts Warrant Changes to California’s Transportation Policies and Plans?

Research Team:

Brian D. Taylor (lead), Hao Ding

UC Campus(es):

UCLA

Transportation and Wildfire Evacuation: Lessons from the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires

Research Team:

Hao Ding (lead), Evelyn Blumenberg

UC Campus(es):

UCLA

Closing the Urban-Suburban Travel Gap for Low-income Travelers

Research Team:

Evelyn Blumenberg (lead), Sang-O Kim, Madeline Brozen

UC Campus(es):

UCLA

Pushed from the Curb: Optimizing the Use of Curb Space by Ride-sourcing Vehicles

Research Team:

Ryland Lu (lead), Donald Shoup

UC Campus(es):

UCLA

Telework Trends in California: Before, During, and Possibly After the Pandemic

Research Team:

Jean-Daniel Saphores (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Modeling the interactions of costs, price, choice and performance in shared mobility systems with subscription service possibilities

Research Team:

Jay Jayakrishnan (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Telecommuting and the Open Future

Research Team:

Jae Hong Kim (lead), Alex Okashita, Harold Arzate

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Re-Examining Induced Travel in California

Research Team:

Michael Cassidy (lead), Jean Doig Godier, Atiila Kharobo

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Examining the Safety and Efficiency Implications of Several Autonomous Car-following Models

Research Team:

Wenlong Jin (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Assessing Drayage Fleet Operator Attitudes and Practices Towards Purchasing Alternative Fuels Vehicles

Research Team:

Stephen Ritchie (lead)

UC Campus(es):

UC Irvine

Assessing the Impact of Vehicle Weight on Road Safety: A Comprehensive Study for the California Transportation Commission

Research Team:

Julia Griswold (lead), Ipsita Banerjee, Jiawei Chen, John Harvey, Celia Johnson, Jon Atkins

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley

Improving Electric Transportation Resilience After Disasters

Research Team:

Ricardo deCastro (lead), Keith Corzine

UC Campus(es):

UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz

Exploring the Impacts of Working at Home and Online Shopping on Post-Pandemic Travel and Transportation Policy in California

Research Team:

Daniel G. Chatman (lead), Yage Liu

UC Campus(es):

UC Berkeley