Steven Polzin

Steven Polzin is a research professor at TOMNET University Transportation Center School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

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Contributed 40 posts

Full Bio

Dr. Polzin is a research professor at TOMNET University Transportation Center School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Dr. Polzin carries out research in mobility analysis, public transportation, travel behavior, planning process development, and transportation decision-making. Dr. Polzin is on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Transportation and serves on several Transportation Research Board and APTA Committees. He recently completed several years of service on the board of directors of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (Tampa, Florida) and on the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization board of directors. Dr. Polzin worked for transit agencies in Chicago (RTA), Cleveland (GCRTA), and Dallas (DART) before joining the University of South Florida in 1988. Dr. Polzin is a Civil Engineering with a BSCE from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and master's and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University.

Digging Holes

Once upon a time there was a transportation planner driving thru the sunbelt. He pulled into a truck stop and while fueling his vehicle he noticed a couple of workers working on the shoulder down the road. One man appeared to be digging holes about three feet across and three feet deep along the side of the road.

The Cost of Slow Travel

One of the most widely cited numbers in contemporary transportation media coverage and policy discussions is the cost of congestion estimates that Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) annually produces as part of the Urban Mobility Report series. The 2009 version of that report (<a href="http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/)">http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/)</a> shows an estimate of the cost of congestion of $87.4 Billion for the top 439 U.S.

New IPhone App Fails Government Transportation Funding Support Criteria

A friend of mine who's a biophysicist popped in to see me the other day. He was all excited and showed me his “patent pending” letter for his newest invention.

Speaking of Clunkers

For serious transportation policy wonks lately every day is like Christmas. Climate change, bailout, deteriorating infrastructure, reauthorization, aging baby boomers, bailout, stimulus, new administration, economic development, global competition, urban redevelopment, bailout, etc. One has all they can do to just keep up with all the relevant news and positioning say nothing of understanding it. In fact, I don’t understand it. <span style="color: #4f4f4f; font-family: 'Lucida San

How Much Green for the 'Green'?

As attention to energy efficiency and climate change continue to pervade the thinking and planning of the future transportation system, we are increasingly challenged to make very real decisions about the prudence of various investments. The current context for decision-making offers perhaps the greatest uncertainty regarding the future witnessed in the lifetimes of people in the planning profession today.