The Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) have released the pre-publication version of TRB Special Report 290, The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation, which explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations. The report provides an overview of the scientific consensus on the current and future climate changes of particular relevance to U.S. transportation, including the limits of present scientific understanding as to their precise timing, magnitude, and geographic location; identifies potential impacts on U.S. transportation and adaptation options; and offers recommendations for both research and actions that can be taken to prepare for climate change. The book also summarizes previous work on strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide--the primary greenhouse gas--that contribute to climate change. Five commissioned papers used by the committee to help develop the report, a summary of the report, and a National Academies press release associated with the report are available online. DELS, like TRB, is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.

TRB Special Report 254 - Managing Speed: Review of Current Practices for Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits reviews practices for setting and enforcing speed limits on all types of roads and provides guidance to state and local governments on appropriate methods of setting speed limits and related enforcement strategies. Following an executive summary, the report is presented in six chapters and five appendices.

"TRB Special Report 319 analyzes the ways that innovative transportation services--including ridesharing, carsharing, bikesharing, and microtransit--are changing mobility for millions of travelers. Such services could reduce congestion and emissions from surface transportation if regulated wisely to encourage concurrent, instead of sequential, ridesharing. Rapidly growing transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, however, are disrupting conventional taxi and limousine services and are raising policy challenges related to personal security and public safety, insurance requirements, employment and labor issues, and accessibility and equity. The committee's report offers guidance to state and local officials responsible for policy setting and regulation of for-hire transportation services in each of these areas. The report also addresses the need for greater consistency in regulations across jurisdictions and calls for TNCs to share more information about the volume, the frequency, and the types of trips they are providing, to allow for informed regulation and planning of transportation services"--provided by publisher.

TRB Special Report 320: Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making examines the demand for and supply of interregional transportation in the United States. Major additions to transportation infrastructure, including high-speed rail, are being considered for some of the country’s most heavily traveled 100- to 500-mile corridors. The availability and use of the automobile, airplane, and train for interregional travel are reviewed along with the rejuvenated intercity bus. U.S. interregional corridors and transportation options are contrasted with those in Japan and Europe, where substantial investments have been made in passenger rail. Public investments in new, long-lived transportation infrastructure can be risky because of uncertainty about future demand and the development of new technologies and competing transportation services. Decisionmakers in interregional corridors face the added challenge of having to coordinate investments across multiple jurisdictions. The report recommends actions to reduce this uncertainty and create stronger institutional means for developing the country’s interregional corridors. TR News 303 features an article on Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making. A video about the research is now available: At the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2016, a session entitled Interregional Travel: Policymaking from a New Perspective was webcast live. These videos provide an overview of various components of the project. Introduction: Part 1: Overview of Project Scope Part 2: Data and Information Needs Part 3: Intercity Bus Operations Question and Answer Session Presenters: Tom Deen Nancy McGuckin Joe Schweiterman Moderated by: Martin Wachs

A guide to using the Public Record Office (PRO) in England for English or Welsh genealogical research, providing an introduction to PRO record classes of interest to North American researchers and identifying PRO records available in North American institutions. Includes advice for finding sources of emigration and immigration records, with appendices on local record offices in England and Wales and useful addresses. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.