METRANS Research Spotlight: Transforming Transportation Systems and Policy

The METRANS Transportation Consortium has received another five years of funding to carry out important research in all aspects of transportation including freight systems and transit. Industry, academia, government, and the public at large benefit from the work carried out at UTCs, which sheds light on the pivotal role mobility and goods movement plays in every important discussion about the past, present, and future of our transport systems. Furthermore, this funding also provides unique hands-on research and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students – and grants much-needed visibility to transportation sector careers for students and professionals alike.

The sixth annual Region 9 Pacific Southwest Region University Center (PSR-UTC) Congress returned to California this year, with two full days of sessions hosted by the University of Southern California on March 17th and 18th. The title of this year’s Congress was Moving Forward: Improving Transportation in Region 9, and featured concurrent sessions across five themes: Improving Mobility, Mobility & Technology, Improving Resiliency, The Intersection of Research and Practice, and Carbon & Air Quality. 

The METRANS Transportation Consortium was established in 1998 as the first University Transportation Center in Southern California. METRANS is a joint partnership of the University of Southern California (USC) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).

METRANS' mission is to solve metropolitan transportation problems of large metropolitan regions through interdisciplinary research, education and outreach. Its three primary objectives are: (1) fostering independent, high quality research to solve the nation's transportation problems; (2) training the next generation transportation workforce; and (3) disseminating information, best practices, and technology to the professional community.