Exhibit D - Research Project Requirement: PDF Link

Project Summary: The project aims to improve accessibility and mobility in rural and disconnected communities through mobility modeling and a community-oriented approach. With a specific focus on healthcare and food access as case studies, the project will employ novel feature-engineering and data fusion approaches to identify data gaps, overcome data-related challenges, and understand unique spatiotemporal travel patterns in rural areas. Furthermore, a mobility modeling framework will be developed to evaluate mobility services specifically tailored to rural and disconnected communities such as micro-mobility, paratransit, and demand-responsive transit. Project outcomes will enhance efficiency for low-demand, long-distance trips by integrating diverse transportation modes, thereby improving overall accessibility and mobility. The project will also identify unmet needs, allowing for targeted policy recommendations that positively impact transportation in rural and disconnected communities.

• Understanding Service Accessibility in Georgia through Mobile Mobility Patterns

• Alaka, O. B., Pandey, V., & Khattak, A. (2025). Investigating automated shuttle readiness for rural areas: A North Carolina case study. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981251378138

• Hridoy, D. N., Tasnia, R., Pandey, V., Rijal, B., & Hasnine, M. S. (2025). Combined revealed-and stated-preference survey to understand the impact of multi-source real-time information on travel mode choice. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/036119812413115

• Pena-Bastidas, J., Liu, J., Jones, S., & Lee, H. Y. (2025). The role of emerging mobility solutions in shaping care-seeking behaviors in rural communities: A national survey with stated choice experiment. Transport Policy, 162, 313–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.12.016

• Gulati, K., Pandey, V., Manikkavasagam, N., Reginato Jr., A., Lidbe, A., & Nagarajan, S. (2025). Comparative analysis of macro- and micro-level measures of healthcare access in urban and rural areas. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981251380266

• Zhang, Z., Liu, J., Qian, X., Guo, S., Yang, C., & Jones, S. (2025). Envisioning shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) for 374 small and medium-sized urban areas in the United States: The roles of road network and travel demand. Journal of Transport Geography, 127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104302

• Ioannou, I. P., Nagarajan, S., & Kaisar, E. (2025). Optimizing rural healthcare accessibility evaluation with AI-driven gravity–radiation modeling. International Congress on Transportation Research (ICTR).

• Saeidi, S., Manikkavasagam, N., Nagarajan, S., & Kaisar, E. (2026). A data-driven spatial framework for autonomous shuttle readiness in rural Florida. ASCE ICTD 2026.

• Soheila Saeidi, Sudhagar Nagarajan, Evangelos Kaisar, “Evaluating the Readiness of Rural Florida Communities for Autonomous Vehicle Adoption,” METRANS International Urban Freight Conference, 2024.

• Soheila Saeidi, Evangelos Kaisar, “Assessing Readiness of Rural Communities for New Technologies: Text Analysis & Framework Development,” Graduate Academic Excellence Event, FAU, 2025.

• Neupane, A., Pandey, V., & Park, H. (2024). “Subscription Models for Differential Access to Real-Time Information,” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

• Lanier, V., Pandey, V., & Hasnine, M. S. (2024). “Optimizing Bike Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Mobility: A Joint Mode and Route Choice Equilibrium Approach,” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

• Pandey, V. (2024). “Transportation Infrastructure Systems: Accessibility Perspectives for Rural and Disconnected Communities,” NSF ERC Proposal Planning Workshop.

Mobility-Data–Informed Rural Service Design: Case Studies and Insights from Southeastern States, Venktesh Pandey (NCAT), April 16, 2026, Southeast Annual Symposium  on Freight and Mobility, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Addressing Accessibility Barriers in Rural and Disconnected Communities: A Review of Modeling Approaches, Venktesh Pandey (NCAT), Joint CATM and CR2C2 Symposium, April 18, 2024.

From Mobility Flows to Accessibility Patterns: A Visitation-Weighted Gravity Analysis of Service Access Dynamics in Georgia,  Lin Pang (UGA), Hao Zhen (UGA), Jidong J. Yang (UGA), Venktesh Pandey (NCAT), Southeast Annual Symposium  on Freight and Mobility, April 14-16, 2026, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Envisioning Shared Autonomous Vehicle Systems in Small and Medium-Sized Urban Areas Using Agent-Based Simulation,  Xiao Zou (UA), Zihe Zhang (UA), Southeast Annual Symposium  on Freight and Mobility, April 14-16, 2026, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Mobile Healthcare Planning for Improving Accessibility in Rural Regions: A Cross-Sector Taxonomy and Bi-Level Optimization Approach,  Ioannis P. Ioannou (FAU), Komal Gulati (NCAT), Sudhagar Nagarajan (FAU), Venktesh Pandey (NCAT), Evangelos Kaisar (FAU), Stephan Durham (UGA), Zihe Zhang (UA), Rongfang Liu (NCAT), Jidong Yang (UGA), Abhay Lidbe (UA),  Southeast Annual Symposium  on Freight and Mobility, April 14-16, 2026, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Envisioning Shared Autonomous Vehicles in Small Urban Areas, Javier Pena-Bastidas (UA), Zihe Zhang (UA), Jun Liu (UA), Steven Jones (UA), Joint CATM and CR2C2 Symposium, April 17-18, 2024.  

Transportation Accessibility Barriers for Rural Communities, Dr. Stephen Durham (UGA), Dr. Jun Liu (UA), Dr. Rongfang Liu (A&T), Dr. Sudhagar Nagarajan (FAU), Dr. Jennifer Ogle (Clemson), Dr. Venktesh Pandey (A&T) (Lead-PI), Dr. Jidong J. Yang (UGA), Attilio Reginato Junior (FAU), Doreen Jehu-Appiah (A&T), Komal Gulati (A&T), Dr. Abhay Lidbe (UA), Hao Zhen (UGA), Javier (UA), Joint CATM and CR2C2 Symposium, April 17-18, 2024.  

Understanding Transport and Land Use Accessibility Disadvantage in Rural and Small Urban Contexts: A Multi-Perspective Analysis, Hao Zhen (UGA), Jidong J. Yang (UGA), and Stephan Durham (UGA), Joint CATM and CR2C2 Symposium, April 17-18, 2024.  

Understanding Transport and Land Use Accessibility Disadvantage in Rural and Small Urban Contexts: A Multi-Perspective Analysis, Hao Zhen (UGA), Jidong J. Yang (UGA), and Stephan Durham (UGA), Joint CATM and CR2C2 Symposium, April 17-18, 2024.