Public Policy and Sustainable Transportation

Public policy research addresses the relationships between government, the private marketplace, and the people served by transportation. For the past 40 years, public and private investment in transportation has profoundly shaped our society. Today, the nation is starting to consider policies that will use transportation to build a more prosperous, more livable country.  The Institute is well suited for the formidable policy challenges ahead. Its broadened perspective enables it to study the balance of numerous interests: accessibility, sustainable development, safety, public involvement, environmental responsibility, the integrity of the marketplace, and fiscal prudence. In all its work, the Institute is guided by its focus on issues between transportation systems and their users.
  

Public Transit and Mobility

In communities throughout the country, public transportation makes valuable contributions to economic development, increased safety, energy conservation, a cleaner environment, less traffic congestion, and an improved quality of life. Yet, too many Americans are unaware of these positive benefits.  Public transportation plays an integral part in meeting people's mobility needs. Whether it's a disabled person on her way to a doctor appointment, a child on the way to the library, or an elderly person going to buy groceries, buses and vans connect people to their community. People who are dependent on public transit, the young or the old, the disabled or the low-income, deserve a first-class system.  The ATR Institute works to inform people about the importance of public transportation for Americans from every walk of life and how transit provides opportunity, access, choice and mobility. 
  

Transportation Materials, Construction, and Maintenance

Infrastructure research studies the performance and economics of materials used in constructing and maintaining facilities. It also studies construction-related factors, like geotechnical design and foundation performance. However, the ATR Institute takes infrastructure studies further by considering problems beyond the perspective of traditional engineering. Issues of construction and materials are weighed against a variety of factors including users’ needs, environmental policy, anticipated demands, government interactions, and funding.  As an Institute affiliated with the UNM School of Engineering, the ATR Institute pursues its transportation research to find applications and improvements to the transportation infrastructure overlay of the nation and the state.