Over 65 years of advancing independent transportation research — connecting scholars, practitioners, and policymakers worldwide.
Our Mission
To advance transportation research through open, independent inquiry — connecting professionals, academics, and policymakers to improve transportation for all.
The Transportation Research Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing an independent forum for the exchange of ideas and information among transportation professionals. We believe that rigorous, unbiased research is the foundation for sound transportation policy and practice — and that collaboration across disciplines produces the best outcomes.
Year Founded in New York City
Annual Forum (Norfolk, 2026)
Countries with TRF Chapters
JTRF Academic Journal Established
In March 1958, a small group of transportation researchers in New York City held a farewell luncheon for UN colleague Gilbert Walker. His talk — "Why Transportation Researchers Need a Forum to Discuss Their Work" — drew more than 35 attendees. Railroad economist Herbert O. Whitten seized the momentum, organizing monthly meetings on transportation topics. The Transportation Research Forum of New York was established, with Whitten as its first president.
The American Economic Association's Transportation and Public Utilities Group (TPUG), formed in 1946, hosted informal industry gatherings at its annual meetings in 1956, 1957, and 1958. A 1959 proposal to co-sponsor empirical transportation research sessions was rejected, setting the stage for TRF to chart its own course.
At the AEA/TPUG conference in St. Louis, Missouri, TRF of NY sponsored an organizational meeting that gave birth to the American Transportation Research Forum — bringing together transportation professionals from across the country for the first time under a national umbrella.
Annual conferences began, held alongside the AEA/TPUG conference. These early gatherings established TRF's reputation as a forum for rigorous, practice-oriented transportation research free from the constraints of narrower professional associations.
"American" was dropped from the organization's name, and TRF formally split from the AEA and TPUG. Though the annual conference was held in the same city as the AEA through 1966, TRF was now firmly its own institution — free to define its own research agenda and membership values.
New York was the founding chapter. Washington D.C. and Chicago chapters were organized shortly thereafter — and all three continue to this day, providing regional programming and community for transportation professionals across the country.
Inspired by TRF's success, Canadian members launched the separate Canadian Transportation Research Forum in 1965. This marked the beginning of TRF's international footprint, which would soon extend to Israel, Australia, and New Zealand.
TRF co-sponsored an international conference in Bruges, Belgium, extending its reach across the Atlantic and cementing its identity as a global platform for transportation research and policy dialogue.
TRF established the Journal of the Transportation Research Forum (JTRF), a peer-reviewed academic and professional journal. JTRF gave the organization a lasting scholarly voice and a home for the rigorous empirical research at TRF's core.
The Journal of the TRF became available online as part of Elsevier's RETREC (Research in Transportation Economics) journal series, broadening its reach and accessibility to researchers and practitioners worldwide. View on Elsevier →
Global Community
Founding home of TRF. Active chapters in New York, Minnesota, St. Louis, Twin Cities, and Chicago; and internationally in Panama and Asia — operating since the early 1960s.
The Canadian Transportation Research Forum, established in 1965, operates as a separate but allied organization sharing TRF's values and mission.
TRF's model inspired the formation of similar organizations in Israel, Australia, and New Zealand, and has hosted international conferences in Europe.