Research and Analytics
ITLC's research portfolio includes a wide variety of workforce topics and issues. With deep experience in both quantitative and qualitative methods, we provide both national-level and location-specific research and analysis across transportation modes. As labor-management partnerships are often a key feature of workforce development programs, our research highlights best practices in cultivating these relationships. Check out some examples of our work under Resources and Publications in the Resources tab.
Workforce Development Best Practices and Case Studies
ITLC’s research team documents effective practices in workforce development, including training and upskilling, recruitment, apprenticeship and mentoring, adapting to new technologies, and developing career pathways.
Research on Job Quality and Organizational Excellence
We investigate how job design and working conditions affect workers and organizations in the transportation industry. Our research addresses safety and health, organizational culture, supportive services, and other operational practices that influence retention, worker satisfaction, and organizational outcomes.
Analytics, Dashboards, and Metrics
ITLC provides tailored support to transportation providers and unions on tracking workforce metrics, analyzing data, and developing interactive visualizations. We also conduct research on national-level workforce trends, leveraging numerous data sources and methodologies.
Sample Projects
Transit Workforce Data Dashboard
The Data Dashboard presents quantitative, descriptive data about the composition of the transit and broader transportation workforce and trends in employment. This information is relevant for industry discussions in a range of contexts, including: strategic workforce planning in recruitment, retention, and other areas and identifying training and funding needs.
TWC Case Studies
Our case studies feature examples of innovative workforce initiatives in recruitment, retention, low- and no-emission fleet transitions, and more, to help transit systems and their partners across the U.S. learn from each other.
TCRP F-32
The objective of TCRP F-32 Enhancing Transit Organizational Culture to Improve Employee Psychological Health and Safety, Recruitment, and Retention is to produce a guide for public transit agencies on building a transparent and responsive organizational culture that supports employees psychological health and safety and leads to improved workforce recruitment and retention.
TCRP J-11/Task 46
The objective of TCRP J-11/Task 46 Zero-Emission Vehicles: New Tech, New Skills, New Jobs is to develop a useful resource for public transportation agencies to use as they transition to new skills and new jobs for planning, operating, and maintaining zero-emission fleets and technologies for all modes.
TCRP Research Report 240
Bus Operator Workforce Management: Practitioner’s Guide was produced by the Eno Center for Transportation, ITLC, and Huber & Associates. It serves as a practitioner’s guide that provides recommendations and resources enabling transit agencies to better assess, plan, and implement their operator workforce management programs.
Transit Worker and Rider Safety (TWRS)
ITLC is working as a subcontracter with the Center for Urban Transportation Research on TWRS, an FTA funded project, to identify public safety risks for transit workers and riders, determine the most effective mitigation strategies to minimize those risks, and promote the implementation of those strategies.
Strengthening Skills Training and Career Pathways Across the Transportation Industry
This report – co-sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Education, and Labor – is a collection and analysis of employment and skills data for the transportation industry. It highlights future employment growth areas and analyzes the patterns in the education and work experience required for entry, including on-the-job training requirements.
TCRP Research Report 169
TCRP Report 169: Developing Best-Practice Guidelines for Improving Bus Operator Health and Retention addresses some of the health and safety issues common throughout the transit industry, and describes approaches that transit organizations in the United States and Canada have taken to address health problems faced by transit employees.
TCRP Research Report 174
TCRP Report 174: Improving Safety Culture in Public Transportation presents research on the definition of safety culture within public transportation, presents methods and tools for assessing safety culture, and provides strategies and guidelines that public transportation agencies may apply to initiate and build a program for improving safety culture.