Impacts of Current and Future Demographic Change on Transportation Planning in Texas
Impacts of Current and Future Demographic Change on Transportation Planning in Texas

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13:

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This report provides an overview of the project objectives and methods and summarizes key findings about the demographic trends impacting Texas transportation. In addition, this report summarizes key findings concerning the use of demographic data at TxDOT and related agencies and provides a technical guidebook for the One-Stop Demographic Data Analysis Tool created as part of this study.

The Travel Behavior of Minority Cohorts in Texas
The Travel Behavior of Minority Cohorts in Texas

Author: Gustavo A. Jimenez Vera

Publisher: ProQuest

Published: 2007

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780549144205

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Texas is changing dramatically; the most conservative population forecast indicates that Hispanics will account for 50% of the Texas population before 2035. Not only is the number of Hispanics on the rise in Texas, but also the foreign-born share has increased dramatically over the last 15 years. The State of Texas is now a majority minority state, and minority cohorts are expected to grow and become more than 65% of the Texas population before 2035. Transportation professionals in the State of Texas are wondering how these demographic changes will affect the transportation system. To gain an understanding of this, one must consider the prevalent travel behavior and attitudes of these minority groups, their cultural preferences, and their traveling mode preferences. This research provides an understanding of the travel behavior of Texas' burgeoning minority cohorts, and assists in identifying potential transportation policy concerns. For this analysis the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) Add-On for the State of Texas is used, because it allows us to examine respondents by race/ethnicity and immigrant status. This study also helps determine how the travel behavior of minority cohorts may impact the state's transportation system in the near future, and possible implications to travel demand models are offered. In addition, this research attempts to foster further research on the travel behavior of burgeoning minority populations within the State of Texas. This study provides descriptive statistics, and multivariate models that examine the travel behavior of minority cohorts.

Texas Urban Triangle
Texas Urban Triangle

Author: Michael Neuman

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13:

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This project came into being due to the dramatic transformation of the four core Texas metropolitan areas into an emergent megalopolis: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Its aims are two-fold: to provide a framework for decisions about future growth in the fastest growing region of Texas, and to spur further research into the complexities of this vast and rapidly emerging mega-region. The Texas Urban Triangle - 17 million persons spread over 58,000 square miles - is a new urban phenomenon, a triangular megalopolis whose development is not linear and contiguous. This report gives policy makers and investors from all sectors of society the critical knowledge they need to make decisions that will shape the future of Texas. The Texas Urban Triangle is one of the most dynamic urban regions in the nation, and to ensure it continues to flourish, we must build a future based on sustainable growth principles. Our preliminary findings suggest that this is not always the case. Further research needs to be conducted to obtain a complete, detailed, and comprehensive portrait. Nonetheless, even these preliminary findings are robust and point to more sustainable options for the future. Now that this preliminary analysis has been completed, readers are invited to consider the results. The ultimate goals of the project are three-fold: To plant the Texas Urban Triangle squarely and firmly into the public imagination of Texans far and wide - to put the Texas Urban Triangle "on the map." To provide a basis for current policy and planning decisions so that a more vibrant and attractive "Heart of Texas" - its metropolises, counties, and cities - provides a more sustainable environment for its residents, and their descendents and newcomers, well into the future. To determine what future research, particularly at the regional scale, is needed to provide a sound basis for public policy and private investment decisions.

Peer Grouping and Performance Measurement to Improve Rural and Urban Transit in Texas
Peer Grouping and Performance Measurement to Improve Rural and Urban Transit in Texas

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Rural and small urban transit systems in Texas will become even more important with predicted changes in population trends. Rural demographic trends indicate growth in the number of persons age 65 and over coupled with a decrease in population density. Small urban area trends indicate substantial population growth and broadened geographic boundaries, yet resources to provide rural and small urban transit are limited. Therefore, transit managers find it is increasingly important to maximize service efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to identify peer groups, performance benchmarks, and strategies used by successful transit providers to achieve high performance. The research project identifies peer groups based on the transit environment within which each agency operates, so that agencies can be compared to other operators who face similar environments. Peer group effectiveness and efficiency performance are examined within and between rural and urban peer groups, and high performers are identified for case studies. Through the case studies, key attributes are identified for achieving high operating efficiency and/or effectiveness. Performance strategies are categorized to provide transit providers with transferrable information to improve performance and increase the return on transit investment.

Changing Texas
Changing Texas

Author: Steve H. Murdock

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2014-03-25

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1623491665

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Drawing on nearly thirty years of prior analyses of growth, aging, and diversity in Texas populations and households, the authors of Changing Texas: Implications of Addressing or Ignoring the Texas Challenge examine key issues related to future Texas population change and its socioeconomic implications. Current interpretation of data indicates that, in the absence of any change in the socioeconomic conditions associated with the demographic characteristics of the fastest growing populations, Texas will become poorer and less competitive in the future. However, the authors delineate how such a future can be altered so that the “Texas Challenge” becomes a Texas advantage, leading to a more prosperous future for all Texans. Presenting extensive data and projections for the period through 2050, Changing Texas permits an educated preview of Texas at the middle of the twenty-first century. Discussing in detail the implications of population-related change and examining how the state could alter those outcomes through public policy, Changing Texas offers important insights for the implications of Texas’ changing demographics for educational infrastructure, income and poverty, unemployment, healthcare needs, business activity, public funding, and many other topics important to the state, its leaders, and its people. Perhaps most importantly, Changing Texas shows how objective information, appropriately analyzed, can inform governmental and private-sector policies that will have important implications for the future of Texas.

Future Travel Demand and Its Implications for Transportation Infrastructure Investments in the Texas Triangle
Future Travel Demand and Its Implications for Transportation Infrastructure Investments in the Texas Triangle

Author: Ming Zhang

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13:

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This study takes a megaregion approach to project future travel demand and choice of transport modes in the Texas Triangle, which is encompassed by four major metropolitan areas, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. The model was developed based on three behavioral characteristics of human travel. First, as income grows, demand for more and faster mobility increases. Second, on average, individuals allocate 1-1.5 hours per capita per day for travel. Third, people allocate 10-15% of per capita personal income for transportation related expenses. Measured by person-kilometers of travel (PKT), the total mobility demand in the Triangle region is projected to grow nearly four times from 480 billion in year 2000 to 1.8 trillion in year 2050. Per capita PKT is expected to increase from 32,700 to 61,000 for the same time period. The projections show that more than 70% of the year 2050 travel demand likely comes from high-speed travel at 600 km per hour. The study results call for serious consideration of investing in high-speed travel in the form of High Speed Rail (HSP) now in order to accommodate the future travel demand in the Triangle Region.