Manish shirgaokar
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Research Areas / Interests

Disadvantaged groups (older adults, women, immigrants, and low-income households); Social equity aspects of infrastructure policy; New transportation technologies; Travel behavior; the land use-transportation connection.

University of Alberta, Edmonton


The transportation sector contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions (and to climate change). One way to mitigate this impact is to tweak behaviors for personal travel choices. To do this, however, we need to understand why and how households and individuals make decisions about transportation consumption. I'm interested in how people travel and in understanding the choices individuals make for regular/everyday trips - with a focus on current as well as new transportation technologies. For example, why do those working downtown travel by car to rail stations and then get on transit? What portion of this decision is based on land use constraints and how much is about personal preferences? How do Transportation Network Companies (e.g., Lyft/Ola/Uber) expand choices for those who do not drive?

In my research, I do not think of the population as an undifferentiated group, since we know that subsections of the population have different pressures that limit the choices they can make. Women, for example, on average have less time on their hands due to taking on maintenance tasks for the household. Does this limit women's choices for travel? Seniors (> 64 years) have cognitive and other burdens that limit their transportation choices. Further, older women have different pressures than older men with respect to travel.
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My work is focused in three areas currently - United States, India, and Canada. My research is about trying to understand the burdens that guide travel choices in subgroups of the population in these geographies. In the process, there are discoveries to be made that are often surprising. For example, do women in the US and India have similar or different pressures guiding their travel behavior? The answers to such questions can be used to design social policies and to think of equitable ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. 
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​Current research projects:
- Seniors and transportation deficiency
- Daily time use and transportation choice
- Racial bias in policing - enforcing traffic laws?
- Social media, big data, and policy extraction

University of California, Berkeley

Research Analyst (Institute of Urban and Regional Development) 2013
• Focused on parking demand at the University of California, Berkeley campus and surrounding City of Berkeley neighborhoods. 
• Funding Source: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Ph.D. Candidate (Department of City & Regional Planning) 2010-12
• Negotiated access to non-public household travel dataset from the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA)
• Conducted extensive analysis using ESRI's ArcMap (GIS), Biogeme (logit models), and SPSS/R generating new knowledge about vehicle ownership and use behavior in Mumbai, India
• Funding Source: UCTC Dissertation Grant

Research Assistant (Global Metropolitan Studies) 2007-11
• Developed proposals to advise city staff about the effects of existing land use and transportation decisions in transit-oriented development sites in the cities of Jinan, Chengdu, and Beijing in the People’s Republic of China
• Funding Source: Energy Foundation (Beijing)
• Completed comprehensive land use and transportation plans for the proposed high-speed rail station areas in the cities of Stockton, Merced, and Fresno in California
• Funding Source: California High Speed Rail Authority

Research Specialist / Associate Development Engineer (Institute of Transportation Studies) 2003-05
• Established a long-range bus transit plan for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area
• Funding Source: California Department of Transportation

Research Assistant (University of California Transportation Center) 1999-03
• Evaluated housing trends in California and their implications for transportation infrastructure, and documented best practices for intelligent transportation technologies
• Funding Source: California Department of Transportation

Grants/Contracts

(All grants > USD 1,000 beginning 2007) (Type: G – Government; U – University)

Year        Grantor                         Purpose              PI                                 Type            Amount
 
2019        Univ. of Colorado         Research            Shirgaokar                     U              $14,000
                Denver                             Funding
Project title#1: Travel behavior of socio-economically disadvantaged populations in the US
Project title#2: Policing and fatalities in the transportation realm

​2018       Mineta Transportation   Project               Agrawal (PI)                 G              $73,400
                Institute                            Funding             Shirgaokar (co-PI)
Project title: Will Older Californians Step into Ride-Sharing Services? Evaluating the Potential of Transportation Network Companies to Enhance Multimodal Travel for Seniors

2015        City of Edmonton,        Project               Shirgaokar                     G              C$6,000
                  Transit Planning           Funding
Project title: Social sustainability in transit: Policy guidance for Edmonton Transit System

2014        Univ. of Alberta,           Research            Shirgaokar                     U              C$68,500
                 Edmonton                     Funding
Project title#1: Seniors and ridesourcing: Investigating barriers to using Uber-like Services
Project title#2: Determinants of scooter, motorcycle, and car ownership in India

2011        Univ. of California        Dissertation       Shirgaokar                    U               $20,000
                 Transportation              Research
                 Center, Berkeley
Project title: Understanding the links between regulatory costs, aspirations, social status, and (un)sustainable travel behaviors

2011       Univ. of California,       Dissertation       Shirgaokar                    U               $30,000
                Berkeley, Graduate      Research
                Dean’s Grant
Project title: Impacts of higher travel costs on motorization in India

2010       Eisenhower Travel        Conference        Shirgaokar                     G               $1,500
                Grant, Federal              
                Highway Authority
Project title: Climate change: A global challenge

2010       Univ. of  California,      Research            Shirgaokar                     U               $2,500
                Berkeley, Dept. of        Block Grant
                City & Regional Plng
Project title: (Dissertation development)

2009       Univ. of  California,      Research            Shirgaokar                     U               $5,000
                Berkeley, Dept. of        Block Grant
                City & Regional Plng
Project title: (Dissertation development)

2008       Univ. of  California,      Research            Shirgaokar                     U               $8,000
                Berkeley, Dept. of        Block Grant
                City & Regional Plng
Project title: (Dissertation development)
 
Other Grants:
 
2010, 2009, 2008, 2001, 2000      Grant-In-Award, Berkeley International Office, Univ. of California, Berkeley
2000                                                    International House Scholarship, Berkeley                            
2000, 1999                                        Block Grant, Dept. of Architecture, Univ. of California, Berkeley    
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  • About
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • MISC.