Student Chapter News

University of Manitoba

At the University of Manitoba, we started the winter 2022 term with remote learning but returned primarily to in-person learning at the end of February. During the term, we hosted both virtual and hybrid in-person/virtual events. We also held elections for our new executive team who will take over in September.

Guest Speakers

In January, Dr. Prasant Sahu from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani in India presented about freight transportation planning for infrastructure development. We were happy to be able to schedule this event despite the 10.5 hour time difference and learn about this topic in the context of another country. In February, Shawn Doyle and Auja Ominski gave a presentation on the Multi-Modal Level of Service (MMLOS) framework developed by Dillon Consulting. The MMLOS framework is an integrated system for understanding how well a street serves all modes of travel, including people walking, cycling, or taking transit, and how changes to the street may impact performance for each mode. In March, we hosted a virtual speaker session on the topic of transit on-demand. Adam Budowski from the City of Winnipeg spoke about the trials, tribulations, and successes of Winnipeg’s on-request transit pilot project and our secretary, Sushreeta Mishra, presented her

The 2022-2023 University of Manitoba Executive team has been elected research on optimizing the operation of semiflexible transit for low-demand conditions. We invited ITE Manitoba and the ITE student chapter from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay to attend the event, and streamed the presentations in a classroom for UofM ITE students on campus. Thank you to all the speakers for taking the time to share their knowledge with us. Networking and Professional Development Three students from our chapter attended a virtual ITE student leadership summit hosted by San Jose State University from January 28th to 30th, 2022. Our members connected with students from other chapters and attended technical presentations, workshops, career development sessions, and panel discussions. Continued on page 46...

Our chapter hosted a virtual industry networking event on February 17th, 2022, with undergraduate students, graduate students, and local transportation engineering professionals. The event used the platform Wonder, which allows for more organic online networking as users are free to move around the virtual room to make their own groups. The event served as a great opportunity for students to meet practicing transportation engineers in the public and private sector, learn about different transportation engineering jobs, and receive career advice. Community Event

Four U of M ITE Student chapter members gave a virtual presentation about transportation engineering to a grade 7 class in rural Manitoba. We spoke about what our student chapter does, taught students about the different types of transportation engineering, reviewed bike safety, explained how train wheels work, and discussed transportation engineering projects in Winnipeg. Thank you to the staff and students at J.A. Cuddy School for having us.

Members of the University of Manitoba Student Chapter doing outreach with middle school students about transportation

University of Windsor

As a newly formed student chapter, the UWindsor transportation group has been working to establish a regular transportation seminar series with speakers from academia and industry. The chapter also endeavours to provide a platform for our students to give presentations on their research to their peers to receive meaningful feedback in preparation for academic conferences. Over the course of the winter semester, the chapter has hosted one of each type of event, along with its regular monthly meetings.

Student Presentation

The Impact of Curfew on Transit Demand and In-Vehicle Density

On February 28th, PhD candidate Haesung Ahn presented his research to the group regarding the impact of the pandemic on transit ridership patterns given that many countries implemented restrictions to restaurant and bar operating hours at night during COVID-19 to curb the spread of the virus. Transit demand plunged significantly during the restricted operating hours, including in Canada. Seoul, South Korea also implemented regulations on social gathering places and cut the number of operating buses by 20% after 9 p.m. The presented study analyzed the impact of the curfew on transit demand and in-vehicle density using smart card transit data from about 13,000 buses for three weeks, from August 24 to September 11, 2020, to identify the locations where demand changed significantly. While there was no change in bus demand before 9 p.m., demand decreased by 12% after 9 p.m. A difference was also observed in users’ sensitivity to transit mode choices due to the restriction. This study offered a guide for implementing restrictions on transit operation and social gathering places during a pandemic. While such regulation would make people refrain from gathering, it could lead to negative impacts such as inducing a curfew rush hour on transit.

PhD Candidate Haesung Ahn presents his work on transit ridership patterns during the pandemic at a University of Windsor Student Chapter event

Transportation Seminar Guest Speaker

The Gordie Howe International Bridge Project: The Politics, Economics, and Procurement of a Major Infrastructure Project

The Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide capacity, redundancy, and a guarantee of long-term service availability at one of the most important trade crossings on earth. It will also provide the level of predictable service that is required to meet the logistics demands of cross-border industrial supply chains. This March 28 talk, given by Dr Bill Anderson, director of the Cross-Border Institute, reviewed the history of events leading up to the project, the P3 procurement model under which it is designed, financed, built, operated and maintained, and the likely economic benefits it will induce both within its region and over the broader North American production networks. Going forward, the chapter has invited guest speakers from industry and the municipal government to give presentations. Upcoming events will also include demonstrations of various transportation-related software packages. As the University’s restrictions on in-person gatherings lift, the chapter is looking forward to organizing in-person networking and outreach events.

The University of Windsor Student Chapter hosted a seminar on the Gordie Howe International Bridge

Ryerson University

Ryerson ITE hosted two virtual seminars in Winter 2022.

Monthly Seminar: Regulatory and Legislative Considerations for making Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) a Reality

On January 25th, RITE hosted Sara Volo from the Ministry of Transportation to discuss the multitude of changes that must be considered to make a wide scale adoption of autonomous vehicles a practical reality on our roadways. She leads a team at the Ministry of Transportation’s Division of Transportation Safety, which conducts applied road safety research and evaluates the effectiveness of government policies. The topics explored in the seminar included rules of the road, driver licensing, enforcement and emergency response, responsibility, and liability.

Monthly Seminar: Tolling 101 – An Introduction to Tolling and Toll Highway Operations

On March 25th, we hosted guest speaker Shakir Hussein, a Director of Traffic and Planning at 407 ETR, the world’s first all-electronic and premier open-access toll highway. Shakir presented an overview of toll highway operations. The seminar consisted of an informative discussion revolving around his experience in the industry and the basics of toll highway operations.