Research in New Jersey TOD areas shows transit access encourages walking, cycling, and local shopping, though usage is shaped by reliability, security, income, and pandemic-driven changes in commuting.
Michael J. Smart
Invisible Rides: How Car-Less Americans Access Cars
How and why do zero-car households seek car access? We used a national online survey of 830 American adults and interviews with twenty-nine low- and moderate-income travelers about their car access behaviors to answer this question.
Powering bikeshare in New York City: does the usage of e-bikes differ from regular bikes?
Study investigates the difference between shared electric bicycles (e-bikes) and conventional shared bikes operated by Citi Bike in New York City.
Disentangling the role of cars and transit in employment and labor earnings
In this article, Professor Smart and Nicholas Klein (Bloustein PhD, 2014) find that having a car helps Americans find jobs, keep those jobs over time, and move up the economic ladder.
Remembrance of Cars and Buses Past
This research suggests a long-term benefit for encouraging transit at younger ages to foster a “transit habit.”
A Longitudinal Analysis of Cars, Transit, and Employment Outcomes
This report improves on existing data by analyzing groups that have variable access to automobiles – poor families, immigrants, and people of color.
The Social Context of Travel
The authors examine how the social context of a neighborhood can influence activity and travel patterns of those living in “neighborhoods of affinity,” where members of a group with strong social ties live and work.
Gay Men Travel Shorter Distances than the Average Person
Gay men living in gay neighborhoods travel much shorter distances on average than their straight next-door neighbors do.
Recent Publications
Crash Data Availability and Best Practices Across the U.S.: Lessons for New Jersey
Objective While fatal crashes are available through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and are readily available to the public, many states do not make their crash data easily accessible for the public and the research community. The public has an interest...
Understanding How Marginalized Genders Travel Using NJ TRANSIT
Through this research, NJ TRANSIT sought to understand how women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer plus community, sometimes referred to as sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) travel on NJ TRANSIT so the agency can provide better...
Assessing Pedestrian Stress with Biometric Sensing and Survey Responses
Recent advances in biometric sensing technologies, such as eye tracking, heart rate trackers, and galvanic skin response (GSR) sensors, offer new opportunities to measure pedestrian stress level and their travel experiences in real-time. Uncertainty remains about...
GPS-Based Street-View Greenspace Exposure and Wearable Assessed Physical Activity in a Prospective Cohort of US Women
Background Increasing evidence positively links greenspace and physical activity (PA). However, most studies use measures of greenspace, such as satellite-based vegetation indices around the residence, which fail to capture ground-level views and day-to-day dynamic...