California is counting on public transit to help meet its ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion. Yet despite large public investments in bus and rail service, the state’s transit ridership is on the decline. ITS scholars are at the forefront of research into mass transit, from its funding and planning to passenger trends to the rider’s safety and experience, informing policymaking aimed at getting more people on board.

LEAD SCHOLAR

Jacob L. Wasserman
Research Program Manager

Spotlight

In the News

Transportopia

Transportopia Episode 6 Transit Crime and Safety

October 22, 2025

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CNN

Why it’s so hard to keep America’s public transit riders safe

September 14, 2025

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Los Angeles Times

L.A. scrambles to find funding for massive bus fleet that is the heart of its Olympics plans

June 18, 2025

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CalMatters

How gentrification is killing the bus: California’s rising rents are pushing out commuters

May 29, 2025

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Journal Articles

A Taste for Transit? Analyzing Public Transit Use Trends Among Youth

Anne E. Brown, Evelyn Blumenberg, Brian D. Taylor, Kelcie Ralph, Carole Turley Voulgaris

Journal of Public Transportation, 2016

Does Transit Mean Business? Reconciling Economic, Organizational, and Political Perspectives on Variable Transit Fares

Allison C. Yoh, Brian D. Taylor, John Gahbauer

Public Works Management & Policy, 2015

Why Do Voters Support Public Transportation? Public Choices and Private Behavior

Michael Manville, Benjamin Cummins

Transportation, 2014

Public Transportation Objectives and Rider Demographics: Are Transit’s Priorities Poor Public Policy?

Brian D. Taylor, Eric A. Morris

Transportation, 2014

Faculty Projects

Student Projects

Accessibility to Transportation and Decision Making: Addressing Inequities During the Development of Public Transit in San Francisco
Mara Lam, Jasmine Till, Dania Abou Zanaid, Lauren Eldib, Joaquin Escalante

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

Unlocking the Potential of the LA Riverway: TOD and Land Value Capture Strategies for Corridor Completion
Kaitlyn Fu

Client: City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

Enhancing Mobility and Access for Carless & Car-Deficit Households in Los Angeles
Alyssa Suzukawa

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

Lead Scholars

Evelyn Blumenberg
Professor and Director

Evelyn Blumenberg
Research Consultant

John Gahbauer
Research Consultant

Mark Garrett
Faculty Associate Director and Associate Professor

Jiaqi Ma
Associate Professor

Michael Manville
Deputy Director

Juan Matute
Managing Principal and Senior Fellow

Joshua Schank
Postdoctoral Researcher

Andrew Schouten
Professor

Brian Taylor
Research Program Manager

Jacob Wasserman
Evelyn Blumenberg

Professor and Director

Evelyn Blumenberg

Evelyn Blumenberg is the director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and professor of urban planning in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Professor Blumenberg is the lead for the Access to Opportunities research program.

Research Areas:Access to Opportunities (lead), Public Transit, Transportation & Communities

Research Consultant

John Gahbauer

John Gahbauer is a research consultant at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

Research Areas:Public Transit, Transportation Finance

Research Consultant

Mark Garrett

Mark Garrett is a research consultant at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

Research Areas:Public Transit, Transportation & Communities, Transportation Finance

Faculty Associate Director and Associate Professor

Jiaqi Ma

Jiaqi Ma is Faculty Associate Director of UCLA ITS and an associate professor at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

Professor Ma is the lead for the New Mobility research program.

Research Areas:New Mobility (lead), Public Transit, Transportation Resilience, Traffic, Transportation Health & Safety

Associate Professor

Michael Manville

Michael Manville is an associate professor of urban planning in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Professor Manville is the lead for the Traffic research program.

Research Areas:New Mobility, Parking, Public Transit, Traffic (lead), Transportation & Communities, Transportation Finance

Deputy Director

Juan Matute

Juan Matute is the deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

Research Areas:New Mobility, Parking, Public Transit, Sustainable Transportation, Transportation & Communities

Managing Principal and Senior Fellow

Joshua Schank

Joshual Schank is a Managing Prinicipal at InfraStrategies LLC, where he leads a practice focused on innovation, strategic planning, and technology. He is also a Senior Fellow in the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA, and a Research Associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute. Prior to joining InfraStrategies and UCLA, Dr. Schank was the first-ever Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at LA Metro. Dr. Schank previously served as President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, led transportation research for the Bipartisan Policy Center, and served as Transportation Policy Advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Research Areas:New Mobility, Public Transit, Traffic, Transportation Finance

Postdoctoral Researcher

Andrew Schouten

Andrew Schouten is a post-doctoral researcher at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

Research Areas:Access to Opportunities, Public Transit

Professor

Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor is professor of urban planning and public policy in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Professor Taylor is the lead for the Transportation Finance research program.

Research Areas:Access to Opportunities, New Mobility, Public Transit (lead), Traffic, Transportation & Communities,Transportation Health & Safety, Transportation Finance (lead)

Research Program Manager

Jacob Wasserman

Jacob Wasserman studies and manages research on public transit, the intersection of transportation and other social issues, and a range of mobility questions at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. With a background in transportation equity, finance, and demand management, Wasserman serves as the lead scholar of ITS’ Public Transit research program.

Prior to joining ITS, he worked for the Cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New Haven on capital planning, vehicle miles traveled development review thresholds, budget process improvements, and active transportation. He also served as a Transportation Justice Fellow for BART Director Lateefah Simon, coordinating passage of the system’s Safe Transit sanctuary policy.

Wasserman has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, with concentrations in transportation policy and planning and in community economic development and housing, in the housing stream. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Yale.

Research Areas:Public Transit, Transportation & Communities, Transportation Health & Safety,

Study transportation at the #1 public university

Transportation-related degrees at UCLA

Master of Public Policy in Transportation

Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in Transportation

Master of Urban and Regional Planning in Transportation

Master’s in Civil Engineering in Transportation

Ph.D. Urban Planning in Transportation

Ph.D. Civil Engineering in Transportation

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