Faculty and students at the ST&E policy lab work with the Urban Transportation Center and the Chicago Transit Authority to conduct research on transit behavior and management issues of importance. Individual student projects are typically two years in length and produce a annual reports and journal articles. Example topics in which the ST& E policy lab has been involved include:

1. The Effects of Crime and Fear of Crime on Travel Behavior
The goal of this project is to understand the factors affecting Chicagoans’ perceptions of safety while using the train system, and the relationship between perceptions of safety, actual crime statistics, and ridership on CTA trains.

2."Evaluating the Impact of the U-Pass Program of the Chicago Transit Authority"
Discounted transit program for college students is a new concept in the Chicago region. Our research focuses on the U Pass Program of CTA and its effects on the commuting/travel patterns of UIC students.

3.Patterns of Rider Response to Construction Delays on CTA Trains
Riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) have been experiencing numerous stoppages and excessive delays due to reconstruction projects, slow zones, accidents, and other various incidents. While these efforts are often necessary, riders may respond to delays by temporarily or permanently taking an alternative route or by choosing a different mode of transportation. The objective of this research will be to understand how excessive delays due to construction affect rider behavior. The study will take advantage of smart card data to track customers over time.

4. The Effect of Ground Level Ozone Warnings on Chicago Transit Authority Ridership
This project aims to understand and evaluate the effect of Ground Level Ozone policy on use of public transportation in urban centers, with a specific focus on train ridership responses to warnings in Chicago. Initial results suggest that there is no significant increase in ridership on ozone action days, but riders shift their time of travel.

5. Accessibility Issues for Disabled
Special needs travelers often feel marginalized and under-serviced. This project is looking at transit service from the point of view of the mobility and visually impaired.

6. Predicting the Adoption Automatic Stored Value Fare "Smart Cards" and the Effect of Adoption on Ridership on CTA Trains and Buses
The CTA offers two types of smart cards: the /Chicago Card/ and the /Chicago Card Plus. /Both are expected to improve the convenience of public transit, as they are stored-value cards that can be read to register fares by the fare equipment when touched to the touchpad on the front of rail station turnstiles and bus fareboxes on all CTA and Pace (suburban) routes. This study explores the the individual and contextual factors that affect citizens’ decisions to adopt and use smart cards technologies and the downstream effect that adoption has on subsequent ridership behavior and perceptions of CTA.