Hough Completes Doctoral Coursework with Planning and Policy Option

Through an exhilarating, exhausting, exciting 16 months, Jill Hough Devoted herself to doctoral program coursework at the University of California, Davis, in transportation technology and policy. Returning to North Dakota State University in December 2000, Hough left the California classroom to continue her research work at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.

The UCD program is well known for its interdisciplinary education addressing transportation, environmental, economic and social problems facing this nation and the world. The program has two primary sections. With Hough's background in economics, she chose the planning and policy option. The other track would have been a technology emphasis for students interested in the engineering side of transportation.

Hough has a strong interest in public transportation and plans to write her dissertation on the political feasibility of bus rapid transit. Bus rapid transit is developing a new prominence in the United States as the Federal Transit Administration is helping support several demonstration sites. BRT is similar to a light rail system but operates with buses at considerably less cost.

There are various hybrids of BRT with exclusive right-of-way, attractive vehicles, stations for rapid boarding, signal priority, state-of-the-art customer service, seamless transfers and supportive land use policies. BRT systems can make use of any or all of the these characteristics.

Her coursework, which concluded Dec. 15, included several courses, but a few were travel demand modeling, geographic information systems and public transportation. Her major professor was Dr. Debbie Niemeier in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

"The experience at UCD was invaluable and a great learning opportunity. I'm very appreciative of UGPTI and NDSU for extending this opportunity to me to study at UCD and learn in that academic environment," she said. She enjoyed the experience of UCD with its 25,000 students.

Her work at the UGPTI has assisted county officials in making decisions about the economic impact and benefits of gravel and paved roads in rural areas. Public transportation for rural transit of people with special needs and how to improve those services, and making the best use of scarce resources are two of her Institute areas of research.

Hough earned both bachelor and master of science degrees in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University.