As students studying transportation, we often see firsthand exciting research taking place on ways we can improve our communities. But there can be a disconnect: The research that can be used to inform planning and policymaking outside our institutions may be too academic or technical for transportation practitioners or the general public. Simply put, our research may not be reaching the people who could benefit the most from it. Enter Transfers Magazine, a free biannual digital publication of the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center (PSR).

Transfers presents cutting-edge transportation research that, through accessible writing and clear visuals, can better engage a wide community of practitioners, students, and the general public. And, most importantly, articles in Transfers connect knowledge to action by identifying straightforward policy implications that translate to real-world interventions.

Published online in the spring and fall, Transfers covers a wide range of transportation topics from researchers throughout the PSR. Our inaugural issue, for example, covers topics ranging from the need to recognize skateboarding as a real mobility mode to the optimal pricing for parking garages.

Articles in the inaugural issue of Transfers

And it’s easy for students to get involved! Transfers features a year-round blog, The Circulator, where students, faculty, and staff from across the region can share their news and stories from their campuses, explain their new research projects, offer opinions on happenings in the transportation world, and much more. The Circulator already features blog posts from students, including one on the misconceptions of millennial travel behavior. Just email [email protected] to get started.

Don’t miss the next issue of Transfers this fall. You can subscribe to Transfers here.

About the Author:

Ryan Yowell is a first year Master of Urban and Regional Planning student at UCLA and a Communications Fellow at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. He is interested in the role of communications and public engagement in the transportation decision making process. He can be reached at [email protected].