The Natural Hazards Center is excited to announce that we’ve awarded three Quick Response research awards to study the impacts of COVID-19 on the transportation sector. This special call for research was supported by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies.

The most recent special call for COVID-19 Quick Response research will fund work that focuses on three distinct areas: communications, vulnerable populations, emergency management policy. Awards of $4,000 each were assigned in each category. The research will help TRB generate a Transportation Pandemic Playbook for transportation organizations. Awardees are:

Communications, the Pandemic, and Local Transportation Resources

Content Analysis of Web-based Communication Strategies Used by Public Transit Agencies in Major U.S. Cities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jessica L. Franks, Georgia State University


Transportation, Vulnerable Populations, and COVID-19

Adapting Transportation to Accommodate Populations Vulnerable to COVID-19 in Hazardous Settings
Nicole Hutton, Old Dominion University
Jennifer Whytlaw, Old Dominion University
Saige Hill, Old Dominion University


Transportation and Emergency Management Policy

Equitable Mobility in the Pandemic Age
Christopher Wyczalkowski, Georgia State University
Deirdre Oakley, Georgia State University
Fei Li, Georgia State University
Karen Johnston, Georgia State University
Stacie Kershner, Georgia State University
Niklas Vollmer, Georgia State University
Prentiss Dantzler, Georgia State University


More information, including a brief abstract of the projects, can be found on the program’s Recently Funded page. For questions or more information, please contact Jennifer Tobin at Jennifer.L.Tobin@Colorado.edu.