2023 UiTR Team

As we welcome the start of a new semester, we would like to welcome the new members to UiTR. Nick Blackwell joins UiTR as a software developer. Shoumic Shahid Chowdhury and Mostaq Ahmed joins as PhD students, and Imrul Kayes Shafie joins as a Master student. To learn more about them, check out the member’s […]

TRB Photos

UiTR has come back from attending TRB’s 102nd Annual Meeting in Washington DC. It was great to meet everyone and an honor to present some of the research being conducted at the UiTR lab. Check out the gallery of photos below!

Happy New Years!

As we at UiTR welcome the start of a new year, we thought it would be a great time to highlight what a tremendous year 2022 was for the whole UiTR team. The lab conducted multiple surveys, including the two week long Rail Trail Corridor field Survey in September. Dr. Fatmi was featured on various […]

TRB Highlight: “Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Population Groups’ Ridership of Public Transport”

Title of Paper: Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Population Groups’ Ridership of Public Transport Authors: Hossain, M. S., Fatmi, M. R. Description: Public transit ridership was severely impacted during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 and continued to have some impact since. The present study examines changes to ridership immediately post-pandemic in 2021. Research investigating the effects […]

TRB Highlight: “Modeling and Simulating Demographic Dynamics within an Agent-based Integrated Urban Model: Application of Machine Learning Techniques”

Title of Paper: “Modeling and Simulating Demographic Dynamics within an Agent-based Integrated Urban Model: Application of Machine Learning Techniques” Authors: Khalil, M.A., Fatmi, M. Description: The demographic characteristic of any region directly affects its transportation demand and energy consumption, among others. Most of the existing demographic components rely on logit and rule-based models, which can […]

TRB Highlight: “Jointly Modeling the Preference for Telecommuting and Teleshopping After the Pandemic”

Title of Paper: “Jointly Modeling the Preference for Telecommuting and Teleshopping After the Pandemic” Authors: Khaddar, S., Fatmi, M. Description: COVID-19 mitigation measures triggered a sharp increase in adoption of teleshopping and telecommuting activities. This study aims to understand extent to which past frequencies and experiences will affect post-pandemic teleactivities behavior. Moreover, findings of the […]

TRB Highlight: “Predicting Parking Occupancy for Residential Shared Parking Lots Using Deep Learning Methods Considering COVID-19 Policies”

Title of Paper: “Predicting Parking Occupancy for Residential Shared Parking Lots Using Deep Learning Methods Considering COVID-19 Policies” Authors: Zhipeng Niu, Xiaowei Hu, Mahmudur Fatmi, Shouming Qi, Dongling Wu, Shi An Description: In this study, a parking occupancy prediction model based on a policy-aware temporal convolutional network (P-TCN) is proposed. Policy dependence of non-stationary data […]

Nobinur Rahman awarded NSERC Scholarship

UiTR is proud to announce that Nobinur Rahman was recently one of the recipients awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postgraduate Scholarship-Doctoral (PGS D). Everyone at UiTR is very proud of Nobinur and everything he brings to the lab. Congrats, and keep up the great work. To learn more about […]

TRB Highlight: “A Joint Model for Activity Start Time, Travel Mode, Companionship, and Destination Location Choice Decisions”

Title of Paper: “A Joint Model for Activity Start Time, Travel Mode, Companionship, and Destination Location Choice Decisions” Authors: Khaddar, K., Varghese, V., Fatmi, M., Chikaraishi, M. Description: Activity-travel decisions including time use (i.e. activity start time), travel-related (i.e. mode and companionship), and land use (i.e. destination location) choices are interdependent and complex in nature. […]

TRB Highlight: “Are Pre-pandemic Models Transferable to the Pandemic Period? Assessing the Temporal Transferability of the Housing Price Component of an Integrated Urban Model”

Title of Paper: “Are Pre-pandemic Models Transferable to the Pandemic Period? Assessing the Temporal Transferability of the Housing Price Component of an Integrated Urban Model” Authors: Orvin, M., & Fatmi, M. Description: This study investigates temporal transferability of housing price micromodel of an integrated urban model (IUM). Models are developed for pre-pandemic and pandemic periods […]

TRB Highlight: “Are Telecommuters and Non-Telecommuters’ Daily Time-use Behavior Different? An Episode-Level Model for Non-mandatory Activities”

Starting today, November 4th and running until December 23rd, every Friday, UiTR will be posting a brief description of one of the eight papers being presented by UiTR lab members in Washington D.C. between January 8-12 2023. If any of the papers interest you please research out to the author(s) or UiTR, or visit the […]

Dr. Dimantha De Silva Guest Speaker

Dr. Dimantha De Silva is a senior lecturer in civil engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. This week he joined the lab and presented a talk on the “Use of Crowdsourced Travel Time Data in Traffic Engineering Application”. The talk was very interesting and engaging. Thank you to Dr. Dimantha De Silva for […]

Dr. Fatmi featured on CBC’s Day Break South

Dr. Fatmi was invited to talk on CBC’s Day Break South on October 3rd to discuss the Rail Trail Corridor Survey. Listen to their conversation here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-110-daybreak-south/clip/15940107-ukraine-russia-theme-song-mistakes-lack-diversity-local

Dr. Fatmi CBC News Interview

Dr. Fatmi was recently featured in a TV Interview on CBC Evening News to discuss “The Role Transportation in Local Elections”. Check out the video here and a link to the article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2022-municipal-election-issues-1.6617526

October Social

All Kelowna-based members got together for a much deserved social. Dinner was served and everyone got to relax and discuss all things not research. Here are some great photos from the event. Check out the newly updated Members tab to view updated portraits of everyone.

Photos from TAC Edmonton

Dr. Fatmi and Bijoy did a terrific job at last weeks TAC conference in Edmonton. Bijoy presented and Dr. Fatmi chaired the session. Here are some photos from the conference. Great work everyone!

Launch of Impacts of Covid-19 on Daily Activity Survey (ICDAS)

Today marks the launch of the latest UiTR Survey. The Impacts of COVID-19 on Daily Activities Survey (ICDAS) is a research project, which is led by Dr. Mahmudur Fatmi. This study will collect information regarding individuals’ travel, including their daily/routine activities such as travel behaviour, use of technology, and socio-demographic characteristics after COVID-19 social distancing […]

Impacts of COVID-19 on Daily Activities Survey (ICDAS)

What is the survey about? The UiTR lab is conducting research on the Central Okanagan to analyze the differences in people’s daily activities before and after COVID-19, focusing on their transportation preferences and use of online services. Are there any incentives to the participants? Survey participants can enter a draw to win 1 of 10 […]

End of Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor Survey

The Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor survey has come to a close. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and participated in the survey, we are very thankful. Here are some more wonderful photos from the survey! Stay tuned for more survey’s in the near future.

Muntahith Orvin receives CTRF Scholarship

UiTR’s Muntahith Orvin recently was announced as one of the winners for the 2022-2023 Transport Canada Scholarship from the Canadian Transportation Research Forum (CTRF) for Graduate Study in Transportation. Everyone at UiTR is very proud of Muntahith for the hard work he has put in. Muntahith’s research focuses on developing advanced econometric and machine learning-based […]

TAC Edmonton

Dr. Fatmi and Bijoy will be heading to Edmonton this week to take part in the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) conference. Bijoy will be presenting and Dr. Fatmi will be chairing a session at the conference. Photos to come!

Dr. Fatmi Research Award

On June 30th, 2022, Dr. Fatmi was awarded a 2021 Faculty & Staff Awards of Excellence Research. Congrats Dr. Fatmi, it is very well deserved.

Global News Feature

Global News recently featured Dr. Fatmi and the UiTR lab on Septembers 27ths evening news. Dr. Fatmi discussed the reasonings and objectives of the Okanagan Rail Trail corridor survey, as well as future plans and goals. Check out the report on us here: https://globalnews.ca/news/9160689/okanagan-rail-trail-survey-autonomous-buses/

First Weekend of Rail Trail Corridor Survey

The first few days of the Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor Survey have past and it has been great to speak to so many individuals. The survey is being preformed from 7am to 7pm everyday between September 17th until September 29th along numerous locations on the Rail Trail. If you see our new banner and blue […]

Assessing the Potential Demand for Autonomous Electric Transit Along the Rail Trail Corridor Connecting Major Urban Destinations

What is the survey about? The UiTR lab is working with the City of Kelowna to conduct research on Okanagan Rail Trail users and their preferences for potential autonomous transit services on that corridor. Are there any incentives to the participants? Survey participants can enter to win 1 of 25 $20 prizes. How can I […]

Start to the 2022 Fall Semester at UiTR!

Everyone at UiTR would like to wish all Undergraduate, Master, and PhD students a wonderful 2022 fall semester. We unfortunately had to say goodbye to Taylor, Kenny, and Roy as they returned full-time to their respective undergraduate studies. However, UiTR is proud to have brought on Uthpalee Hewage, a PhD student with a MSc. in […]

July UiTR Social

The UiTR team got together for some pizza during Tuesday’s lunch to say goodbye to Zhipeng, who will be returning home in early August. It was great fun and the lab will miss sorely Zhipeng. Here are some photos snapped during the fun.

Shared Mobility Survey (SMS)

What is SMS? The purpose of this survey is to understand the use of shared modes of transportation by Kelowna citizens. Shared mobility is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of transportation modes including carsharing, bicycle and e-scooter sharing systems, hide-hailing companies, public transit, and taxi.  Are there any incentives to the participants? Survey participants can enter to […]

Ukrainian Job Opportunity

UBC integrated Transportation Research Laboratory (UiTR) has job openings for Masters, PhD, and Postdoc positions for anyone directly impacted by the War in Ukraine. NSERC funding could be leveraged on short notice upon hiring. Those who are interested in work related to transportation demand modelling, please email the UiTR laboratory at uitr.lab@ubc.ca. Please use the […]

New Job Openings

UBC integrated Transportation Research Laboratory has three new positions that are currently looking to be filled. UiTR is looking for a Project Manager, Software Programmer, and a Postdoc fellow to join the lab. All work will be in-person. If you are interested to learn more about these opportunities, please check out the Job Openings tab […]

UiTR members present at 57th Annual Conference of Canadian Transportation Research Forum (CTRF)

Shivam Khaddar and Muntahith Orvin both individually presented today at the 57th Annual Conference of Canadian Transportation Research Forum (CTRF). The annual event was held at the Double Tree by Hilton in Montreal. Shivam’s presentation was: Modeling Telecommuting and Teleshopping Preferences in the Post-Pandemic Era. Muntahith’s presentation was: COVID-19 and Housing Price: Modeling Housing Price […]

June UiTR Social

Today the UiTR team got together and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside. Taking a break from all the research, the team took in the warm weather, ate lunch together in UBCO’s courtyard, and played some bocce.

Dr. Fatmi Delivers Presentation at UBC Sauder School of Business

Dr. Fatmi was invited to deliver a presentation about Next Generation Agent-based Integrated Urban Modeling at the UBC Sauder School of Business in Vancouver, British Columbia. The presentation was delivered on April 29th, 2022. The presentation discussed the the next generation of agent-based integrated urban modelling and included comments about current UiTR research projects and […]

Dr. Fatmi was on The Early Edition show

Dr. Fatmi was a guest on The Early Edition show on AM1150 with Phil Johnson. There Dr. Fatmi discussed UiTR’s recent research on modelling the spatio-temporal demand for shared e-scooters in Kelowna. To listen to the conversation check it out here.

UBCO Research on Shared E-Scooter Services featured in UBCO News

Our research is in the news. In this study, UiTR investigated the highs and lows in shared e-scooter services in Kelowna. Read the article here.

UiTR Welcomes New Undergraduate Students

UiTR is happy to welcome aboard four new undergraduate students. Taylor, Roy, Kenny, and Trevor will be joining the team as undergraduate research assistants and will be helping in a wide assortment of duties. Please click the student tab to view what all students are currently working on, including the four new undergraduate members. Let’s […]