TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORTATION '20

Research Symposium presented by the iCity-Centre for Automated and Transformative Transportation Systems (CATTS)

Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

ONLINE EVENT - Registration closes 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2nd

In July 2017, The University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute (UTTRI) launched the iCity Centre for Automated and Transformative Transportation Systems (iCity-CATTS). The research centre was established to quantify and guide the transformation of transportation systems in the era of rapid innovations in vehicular technologies and in provisioning of transportation as a service. The iCity-CATTS is the first research centre of its kind in North America to address the large-scale impacts of disruptive transportation technologies and services on our cities. It is a multi-disciplinary multi-sector collaboration that gathers academia, industry, technology experts, and the government. The centre’s mission is to guide societal transformation into a positive and sustainable direction, avoid the emergence of counterproductive travel trends, and emboldens Ontario cities as leaders in North America and the world.

On June 3, 2020, the iCity-CATTS is hosting its 3rd annual Research Day, online.

This year’s research day features a special keynote presentation by Professor Patricia Mokhtarian of Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, “The Adoption and Travel Impacts of Teleworking: Will it be Different This Time?”

Join us to learn about:

The iCity-CATTS research agenda,
Research progress in year 3, and
Partners' research interests, needs and progress.

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A G E N D A ( Download agenda as PDF )

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks, Professor Baher Abdulhai

9:15-10:45 Session I - Moderated by Professor Baher Abdulhai

Measuring the Impacts on Demands for Transportation - Prof. Khandker Nurul Habib, University of Toronto
Modelling Mobility Service Provision - Francisco Calderón and Prof. Eric Miller, University of Toronto
In depth analysis of the impact of ACC on freeway performance - Lina Elmorshedy, Islam Kamel, and Professor Baher Abdulhai, University of Toronto

10:45-11:00 Break

11:00-12:30 Session II - Moderated by Professor Amer Shalaby

Improving Transit Connections via Transfer Optimization and On-Demand Services - Alaa Itani, Zahra Ansarilari and Prof. Amer Shalaby, University of Toronto
Assessing the Use of Automated Ground Vehicles for Parcel Delivery in Large Private Spaces - Daniel Olejarz and Prof. Matthew Roorda, University of Toronto
Infrastructure to Enable Freight Platooning Ramp Operations in the GTHA - Shane Arnold and Prof. Matthew Roorda, University of Toronto
Advancing the climate benefits of electric vehicles through charging optimization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Ran Tu and Prof. Marianne Hatzopoulou, University of Toronto

12:30-1:30 Break

1:30-2:15 Keynote: The Adoption and Travel Impacts of Teleworking: Will it be Different This Time? - Professor Patricia Mokhtarian, Georgia Institute of Technology

From Alvin Toffler’s (1980) “electronic cottage,” to Peter Drucker’s (1993) declaration that commuting to an office was obsolete, through countless workplace and/or transportation system disruptions ever since, people have predicted the widespread adoption of working from home, with concomitant benefits to congestion, fuel consumption, and emissions. Yet while teleworking has seen steady growth in the “information era,” overall levels have remained modest — until recently, when the COVID-19 pandemic has forced its adoption on an unprecedented scale. What will happen when it is safe to go back to the office? Will managers and staff alike embrace the benefits of working from home, or will it be back to business as usual? This presentation offers a snapshot of the present, reviews past research and experience on the adoption and travel-related impacts of teleworking, and reflects on future implications for transportation.

Patricia Mokhtarian is the Susan G. and Christopher D. Pappas Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She joined Georgia Tech in 2013, after 23 years at the University of California, Davis, where she was a CEE Professor, Associate Director for Education of the Institute of Transportation Studies, and founding Chair of the interdisciplinary Transportation Technology and Policy MS/PhD program. Prior to that, she spent nine years in regional planning and consulting in Southern California, after completing her PhD at Northwestern University. Dr. Mokhtarian has specialized in the application of rigorous quantitative methods to the study of travel behavior for more than 40 years. A key research interest has been the impact of telecommunications technology on travel behavior, with additional interests in land use and transportation interactions, attitudes toward travel itself, multitasking, travel time budgets, induced demand, and congestion-response behavior. She has authored or co-authored more than 200 refereed journal articles, technical reports, and other publications, including more than 40 peer-reviewed articles relating to telecommuting. She is a recent Past Chair of the International Association for Travel Behaviour Research, and serves on the editorial boards of nine transportation journals.

2:15-2:30 Break

2:30-3:30 Session III - Moderated by Dr. Judy Farvolden

Automated Transit Shuttle Project update and lessons learned - Fahad Khan, City of Toronto
Transportation Innovation Zones (TIZ): Project creation and plans moving forward, case for TIZ and our plans moving forward - Lindsay Wiginton, City of Toronto
Automated Vehicles Tactical Plan Update and MaRS Economic Development Study - Shagithya Deivendran, City of Toronto
York Region Readiness for Transportation Technology Advancements - Lauren Crawford, York Region

3:30-3:45 Concluding Remarks, Professor Baher Abdulhai and Professor Amer Shalaby

3:45-4:00 End of presentations; Break

4:00-5:00 Partner’s Planning Workshop (Closed session with partners only), moderated by Professor Baher Abdulhai and Professor Amer Shalaby.

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Feel free to share this invitation within your network, however registration is required to join the symposium.

Instructions to join the symposium online will be emailed to registrants on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. via Eventbrite.

Chaired by Professor Baher Abdulhai, Research Director, iCity-CATTS.

Registrations are closed

Transformative Transportation '20 - iCity CATTS Symposium