Moving People and Goods

UT’s Approach

Mobility affects everyone, everywhere. Whatever form it takes, mobility is the vital connection to jobs, health care, childcare, groceries, and goods. 

At UT, our research represents the most common forms of mobility, as well as those that are new and emerging, across urban, suburban, and rural areas. Some researchers focus on the freight transportation that keeps America’s economy rolling. Others are dedicated to public transit, while still others are leading world-class investigations in micromobility options like e-scooters. 

Across all these topics, we address common themes including human safety and economic opportunity. We’re also addressing the unknowns lingering in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Evolving norms in working from home, telehealth, and other virtual opportunities have catalyzed potentially permanent changes in transportation needs and choices. 

Freight logistics and supply chains have been affected across all modes of transportation: rail, air, ocean, and long-haul trucking. The trucking industry faces unique challenges: as drivers retire, the vacancies are not being filled—and the annual freight volume in the US is expected to increase by 50 percent in tonnage and double in value between 2020 and 2050. Our work in connected automated vehicles could potentially change the game for companies in short supply of drivers.

To solve new challenges for communities and corporations alike, we examine factors including human behaviors, like choosing between e-scooters and buses, the impacts of new technologies such as transit ticketing apps, the impact of supply chain resiliency and safety on delivering goods to communities, and new tech-enabled policies like public transit fare caps based on insights from ticketing apps.