October 20, 2004

CONTACT: Anne Brooks Ranallo, 312-355-2523, aranallo@uic.edu

COST AND CONGESTION DRIVE URBAN TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE

Two timely questions -- who uses transportation the most, and who pays
-- will be the focus of an Oct. 29 conference hosted by the University
of Illinois at Chicago.

Nearly 200 researchers, government officials and consultants from
across the Midwest will meet to share ideas and answers at the UIC
Urban Transportation Center's fifth annual conference.

The agenda reflects the growing impact of suburban sprawl: more cars
travel longer distances more often. Conference participants will
examine various tiered pricing structures to manage congestion and
raise revenue.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chicago Marriott
Downtown, 540 N. Michigan Ave. Among the presentations:

-- Glenn Lyons, transportation research director at the University of
the West of England, will introduce London's rush-hour pricing strategy
requiring each driver to pay ₤5 (about $9.50) upon entering the
downtown area.

-- Jack Hartman, executive director of the Illinois Toll Highway
Authority, and Edward Regan of Wilbur Smith Associates, a consultant to
tollway owners and operators, will discuss other means of pricing to
manage demand.

-- Peter Samuel, editor of Tollroad News, will join Randy Williamson of
the United States Government Accounting Office and Robert Gallamore,
director of Northwestern University's transportation center, to speak
on pricing in the freight industry.

The conference marks the 25th anniversary of the Urban Transportation
Center, one of seven research centers in the College of Urban Planning
and Public Affairs at UIC. Through grants totaling $1.8 million
annually, the center conducts research and provides technical
assistance and training to students, transportation professionals and
government officials. For more information about the center and the
conference, visit http://131.193.92.223/

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research
funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students,
12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public
medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities
Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with
community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of
programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around
the world. For more information about UIC, visit www.uic.edu.