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Todd Hansen, AICP

Transit Mobility team members in front of a Capital Metro Red Line train

Todd (left) and other Transit Mobility team members at a site visit with Capital Metro in Austin.

Contact Information

Transit Mobility Program
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
701 N. Post Oak, Suite 430
Houston, TX 77024
Phone: (713) 613-9205
Email: [email protected]

Biography

Todd Hansen is an Associate Research Scientist for the Transit Mobility Program at TTI with eight years of transportation experience, including significant contributions to other TCRP projects. His work focuses on best practices for public transportation agencies, accessibility for persons with disabilities to fixed-route transit, innovative practices in on-demand transportation, public transit and TNC partnerships, accessibility to fixed-route transit, and analysis of transit agency operational and financial data. Mr. Hansen is interested in transformational technologies in transportation and how public transit can utilize service concepts that are offered in areas of shared mobility, mobile technology platforms, and on-demand scheduling to strengthen the level of service provided to passengers. He is the paper review coordinator and a member of the TRB Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility (AME50), leading decisions on conference programming and assisting with research priorities for the committee. He is also a member of the TRB Committee on Transit Data (AP090). He earned his Master’s of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University in 2013 and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Mr. Hansen regularly researches partnerships with private companies and on-demand service models by public transit agencies, recently leading case study research about innovative pilots to a published white paper for the Texas Department of Transportation–Public Transportation Division. He has led technical assistance projects researching practices in shared mobility planning, developed service scenarios for on-demand public transportation, and investigated funding sources and requirements for innovative transportation solutions. He is currently leading research on performance measures and evaluation frameworks for transit agency innovative service pilots. Mr. Hansen is also currently a team member on the TCRP B-47 project concerning transformational technologies and underserved populations, leading the literature review effort and synthesis of existing barriers and solutions in the topic area. He has presented research on transit and TNC partnerships at the 2017 Association for Commuter Transportation International Conference, 2019 International Conference on Demand Responsive and Innovative Transportation Services, and other conferences. For the 2019 TRB Annual Meeting, Mr. Hansen assisted with the organization and presentation of a preconference workshop on innovative mobility services and considerations for riders with disabilities. He has also contributed to research about state statutes on TNCs, perceptions of TNCs by persons with visual disabilities, and TNCs as a deterrent of drunk-driving behavior.

Mr. Hansen has led research with Capital Metro to create an evaluation framework and service standards for the agency’s microtransit service, researching existing practices and guidance in new mobility performance measurement, developing a typology of microtransit service zones, and testing the evaluation framework using actual service data. Mr. Hansen has Mr. Hansen has led work with Houston METRO’s paratransit division, METROLift, in projects on bus stop accessibility prioritization and paratransit feeder service to fixed-route transit for their Moving Forward initiative, later presenting the research at poster sessions during the TRB Annual Meeting. He is currently leading research with Houston METRO on scenarios for expanded demand response service, analyzing projected trip demand and operational costs for service beyond the current METROLift service area within the agency’s jurisdiction. He recently led work for Houston METRO on scenarios for expanded demand response service, analyzing projected trip demand and operational costs for service beyond the current service area.

Mr. Hansen led the development of the Two-Variable Cost Allocation Calculator for National RTAP, which enables transit agencies to allocate operational costs across their routes and services by vehicle hours and miles data. Mr. Hansen is currently leading technical assistance work for a large Area Agency on Aging to determine the optimal rate structure framework and allocation cost model for their upcoming mobility management project with on-demand service. Mr. Hansen is one of the authors who contributed to the report Sources of Funding Transit in Texas, and to transit strategies and urban planning strategies for the Mobility Investment Priorities project funded by the 82nd Texas Legislature through Rider 42. Mr. Hansen also assisted with the Bus Stop Beacon Project at METRO in which focus groups tested the ability of Bluetooth beacons and smartphone apps to guide persons with visual disabilities to bus and rail stops in a fixed-route transit system. His other research experience includes TNC impacts on reducing alcohol-impaired driving and blind and visually impaired persons’ perceptions of TNCs. He is also currently leading TCRP Synthesis J-07/Topic SD-06 on bus stop and pedestrian infrastructure improvement programs, which includes research on accessibility and equity aspects in transit agency programs.

Mr. Hansen annually leads the PTN-128 data review on behalf of TxDOT Public Transportation Division (PTN) for all small urban and rural transit agencies in Texas. PTN-128 provides a centralized repository for TxDOT PTN to collect financial and operating data from state-funded urban and rural transit districts, large urban transit agencies, and specialized transit agencies. The annual review of PTN-128 data looks at changes in performance measures from year to year to ensure data accuracy for input into the state funding formula and facilitating subsequent rural data reporting to the National Transit Database. Mr. Hansen also led and managed a web-site rebuild of the PTN-128 system and training workshops for transit agencies to understand the web system and data entry requirements. Mr. Hansen has led technical assistance with the Transit Management certificate program at Texas A&M University by exploring ways to expand certificate reach and grow experience for working in the transit industry. He created an internship program in conjunction with certificate to place graduate students at transit agency internship positions around the State of Texas.

Mr. Hansen conducts research involving public and private service providers about their operations and experience in transportation, and technical assistance for transit agencies through operational capacity reviews of service performance and benchmarking data against measures from peer agencies. He has worked with transit agencies to create sensible fleet replacement plans based on trends in vehicle usage, maintenance practices, state of good repair, and funding needs. Mr. Hansen also assisted the Transit Mobility team when creating the Making Dollars and Sense of Transit Finance and the Managing Operating Costs for Rural and Small Urban Transit Systems workshops for the TxDOT Public Transportation Division (PTN). The workshops focused on MAP-21 rulemaking, state-of-good-repair concepts, best practices in asset inventory, fleet replacement plans, vehicle life projection, and preventative maintenance.

Education

  • M.U.P., Texas A&M University, 2013
  • Certificate, Transportation Planning and Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2013
  • B.B.A., Business Administration Texas A&M University 2010

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, American Planning Association (APA), Texas Chapter (2011–current)
    • American Institute for Certified Planners (AICP), #279929
  • Transportation Research Board
    • Member (2016-present), Paper Review Coordinator (2019-present), Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility
    • Member (2020-present), Committee on Transit Data
    • Friend, Committee on Emerging and Innovative Public Transport and Tech.
    • Friend, Standing Committee on Paratransit

TTI Tenure / Total Industry Tenure

  • 8 years

Professional Interests

  • Transit Operations and Financial Data
  • Transit and Emerging/Shared Mobility
  • Accessibility to Fixed-Route Transit
  • Performance Measurement
  • Transit Cost Allocation

Selected Projects, Publications, and Presentations

  • Benedict, A., Shurna, M. L., Hansen, T. Case Study: National Review of Public Transit COVID-19 Delivery Programs. Shared Use Mobility Center, August 2020.
  • Benedict, A., Hansen, T. Case Study: Case Study: Charlevoix, MI Rural Food Delivery Program. Shared Use Mobility Center, August 2020.
  • Hansen, T., Walk, M., Tan, S. Application Tool for Two-Variable Cost Allocation for Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Transit Agencies. Transportation Research Record, Washington, D.C. 2020.
  • Benedict, A., Hansen, T. Case Study: Wheels2U Microtransit Service: Providing Mobility in Options in a Growing Downtown. Shared Use Mobility Center, July 2019.
  • Two Variable Cost Allocation Calculator, National RTAP, 2019.
  • Zmud, J., Stoeltje, G., Ettelman, B., Hansen, T., Simek, C. Volunteer Driver Insurance and Liability in the Age of Ride-Hailing. Washington, DC: American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), forthcoming.
  • Hansen, T., Elgart, Z., Miller, K., and Moran, M. Existing Transportation Network Companies Used as a Part of Basic Mobility. TTI, November 2018.
  • Hansen, T. Analysis of Paratransit Feeder-Service Pilot: Projected Versus Actual Ridership and Cost-Benefit Results. Transportation Research Record, Washington, D.C. 2018.
  • Walk, M., Hansen, T. Coursebook: Making Dollars and Sense of Transit Finance. TTI. 2018
  • Cherrington, L., S. Tan, T. Hansen, and M. Walk. Sources of Funding Transit in Texas PRC 15-11.3 (2018).
  • Edrington, S., M.J. Walk, K. Miller, and T. Hansen. Guidebook on Health and Human Services Revenue as Public Transit Local Match (NCHRP Project 20-65 Task 64) [contractor’s report] 2019.
  • Policy Implication of Transportation Network Companies – Final Report. 2018.
  • TCRP Research Report 192: Decision-Making Toolbox to Plan and Manage Park-and-Ride Facilities for Public Transportation: Guidebook on Planning and Managing Park-and-Ride (Project H-52). Cherrington, L., Brooks, J., Cardenas, J., Coffel, K., Elgart, Z., Galicia, D., Hansen, T., Miller, K., Ryus, P., Semler, C., and, Walk, M. July 2017.
  • Transportation Network Companies Present Opportunities to Increase Safety and Broaden TTI’s Research. Elgart, Z., Shipp, E., Cardenas, J., Hansen, T., and Pant, A. Pending publication. August 2016.
  • Impacts of Coordination Between Fixed-Route and Paratransit on Service and Sustainability. Tan, S. and Hansen, T. Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2014.
  • Guidebook: Managing Operating Costs for Rural and Small Urban Public Transit Systems. 0-6694-P3. Edrington, S., Brooks, J., Cherrington, L., Hamilton, P., Hansen, T., Pourteau, C., Sandidge, M. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. May 2013.
  • S. Edrington, J.P. Brooks, L.K. Cherrington, T.W. Hansen. Managing Operating Cost for Rural and Small Urban Transit Systems: Workshop Materials. 0-6694-P2. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. June 2013.
  • S. Edrington, L.K. Cherrington, T.W. Hansen. METROLift Moving Forward: Workshop and Community Feedback Outcome Report. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. June 2013.
  • Omaha Metro On-Board Survey. 479480-1. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. March 2013.

Experience

  • Assistant Research Scientist, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Houston, TX, May 2018 – Present
  • Associate Transportation Researcher, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Houston, TX March 2016 – April 2018
  • Assistant Transportation Researcher, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, June 2013 – February 2016
  • Graduate Assistant Researcher, Transit Mobility Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, August 2012 – May 2013
  • Transportation Intern, Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Bryan, TX, May 2012 – August 2012