Research topics for transportation engineering and planning for 2016-2017?

I observed from my site’s statistics that there have been a lot of interest on research topics in transportation engineering and planning. I regularly post on the undergraduate research topics our students have engaged in. At this point in the first semester of the current 2016-2017 academic year, topics have not yet been assigned and we have only learned how many students have been assigned to our research group. As such, we are still in the process of determining who takes on which topic. Following are topics we have identified in addition to those that had no takers the previous semesters:

Traffic engineering

1. Anatomy of congestion along EDSA
2. Anatomy of congestion along C-5
3. Segregated lane for motorcycles
4. Impacts of the MMDA’s truck lane policy along C-5
5. Congestion study in the vicinity of UP Town Center
6. Assessment of through traffic for the UP Diliman campus

Public transportation

1. Connectivity study for UP AGT and MRT 7
2. Feasibility of bus services beyond Masinag junction
3. Characterization of Internal Public Transportation Operation in UP Diliman and Viability of Introduction of Electric Vehicles
4. Modelling the Public Transport System of UP Diliman Campus Using CUBE Travel Demand Software
5. Estimation of Passenger Demand for New Transit System for UP Diliman Using Discrete Choice Model
6. Characteristics of motorcycle taxis in the Philippines [Habal-habal, skylab, etc.]

Road safety

1. Severity of injuries of motorcycle riders (helmet and non-helmet users)

Pedestrian & non-motorised transport

1. A study on walkability along Ortigas Avenue
2. A study on the characteristics of bike share users in the UP Diliman campus

Transport & Environment

1. Assessment of Roadside Air Quality along C.P. Garcia Avenue in the Vicinity of UP-ICE Compound

Other topics

1. Study on the mobility of PWDs in Metro Manila
2. Assessment of ridesharing in the context of sustainable transport

I’m sure there are other topics but I’m not aware of the specifics at present. Also, we welcome the ideas of our students should they already have topics in mind as long as these preferably fall under the research agenda of our Institute. The topics listed above may appear to be specific but these are still basically very general and can be refined after the students establish their scope and limitations. They can only do that once they have undertaken a decent enough literature review for them also to have a more firm appreciation of their chosen topics. I will post again on this later this year when students would have already put in substantial work on their research proposals (i.e., the objective for this semester).

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