NEXT GENERATION INTERMODAL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Focus Group on Public Transportation Last-Mile Problem ORAL INFORMED CONSENT

DOCUMENT (University of Illinois at Chicago Institutional Review Board Research Protocol #20120656) PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Piyushimita Thakuriah (Vonu), Ph.D. SPONSOR: Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Public and Intermodal Transportation DESCRIPTION: You are invited to participate in a focus group regarding the last mile problem affecting public transportation. The last mile problem occurs when travelers experience difficulties accessing their home, shopping, social activities or job locations from transit stations or stops. It is usually a major deterrent to using public transportation. The objective of this research project is to understand the existence, extent and location of areas with the last mile problem in the Chicago metro area, in terms of access to public transportation. We will be discussing the following transit access issues: 1) To give your perspective on the last mile problem as they affect community residents and employers and the reasons why the last mile problem occurs in communities (for example, crime around transit stations, lack of sidewalks, major employer locations too far from station and so on); 2) How your community may be impacted by improved access to transit (train) stations and (bus) stops; 3) Populations you feel are more affected by the last mile problem than others; 4) Employers and jobs you feel are affected by the last mile problem; 5) Types of strategies regarding new technologies (such as shuttles, group-walking, ridesharing, location-based information technology services, neighborhood electric vehicles) that could be used to solve the last mile problem; 6) Types of improvements that we can make to the built environment (sidewalks, pedestrian crossing, bicycle lanes) to encourage the use of public transit and for improved last mile strategies; 7) Types of data and technologies that are available to better understand commuter travel patterns and how to connect commuters to transit; 8) Types of marketing strategies that can be used to inform the public of solutions to the last mile problem. It is our hope that your participation in this research study will help us understand the last-mile problem as they affect communities across the Chicago metro area so that we can determine the solutions and the institutional structure needed for its improvement. PROCEDURES: As part of this study, you will be asked to participate in a focus group to be held in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy in the University of Illinois at Chicago. Participation in this study is voluntary.
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Focus groups will be audio-taped. Only what is necessary for the purposes of the study will be recorded. In order to protect your privacy and the confidentiality of the information given, all identifying information, including names and employer, will be removed from the transcripts of the focus group. Participants will be assigned a code number which will be used in all data sets and communications. Only faculty researchers will have access to the names and codes, which will be stored in an encrypted file on a non-networked computer. The only persons who will have access to the raw transcripts, raw questionnaires, and focus group audio tapes are the faculty researchers. All items will be stored in a locked cabinet and will be destroyed upon completion of the study. TIME INVOLVEMENT: Your participation in the focus group will take no more than 3 hours. We will provide the dates when the focus groups will be held at a later date, but they will be held between late October and mid-December, 2012. PAYMENTS: You will receive payment of $50 for your participation in the study as well as free parking. Coffee, soft drinks and snacks will be served. RISKS AND BENEFITS: There are no foreseeable risks associated with this study. The benefits which may reasonably be expected to result from this study are solutions needed to advance our public and non-motorized transportation systems by addressing the last mile problem. We cannot and do not guarantee or promise that you will receive any benefits from this study. PARTICIPANTS RIGHTS: If you have decided to participate in this project, please understand your participation is voluntary and you have the right to withdraw your consent or discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. The alternative is not to participate. You have the right to refuse to answer particular questions. The results of this research study may be presented at scientific or professional meetings or published in scientific journals. They will also be shared, in aggregate form, with the project sponsor, Illinois Department of Transportation. CONTACT INFORMATION: If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this research, its procedures, risks and benefits, contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah, PhD at 312.355.0447. INDEPENDENT CONTACT: If you are not satisfied with how this study is being conducted, or if you have any concerns, complaints, or general questions about the research or your rights as a participant, please contact the Office for the Protection of Researched Subjects (OPRS) to speak to someone independent of the research team at 312.996.1711 or by email at uicirb@uic.edu. You can also write to OPRS/IRB, 203 Administrative Office Building M/C 672, 1737 West Polk Street, Chicago, IL 606012. I give verbal consent to participate in the research study on the last mile problem. ___Yes ___No
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I give verbal consent to be audiotaped during this study. ___Yes ___No

PARTICIPANT NAME: _____________________________________DATE: _________________

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