UBC integrated Transportation Research Lab

What UBC integrated Transportation Research Lab does

The UBC integrated Transportation Research (UiTR) Laboratory is an academic research facility at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus in Kelowna, British Columbia. Founded in 2018 by Dr. Mahmudur Fatmi (previously operating as CeTLUR and rebranded to UiTR in 2022), the lab conducts interdisciplinary research on the interactions between transportation and land use, with emphasis on travel demand modeling, activity-based forecasting, vehicle ownership, residential location choice, shared mobility, autonomous vehicles, and the impacts of disruptive events such as COVID-19 on travel behavior. UiTR's primary stakeholders are federal, provincial, and municipal government agencies in Canada (Transport Canada, ECCC, NSERC, BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, Metro Vancouver, and Okanagan-region municipalities), along with academic collaborators in Canada and abroad.

The lab's core technology is STELARIS (Simulator for Transportation, Energy, and Land Use for Regional System), a next-generation agent-based integrated urban modeling system that unifies population synthesis (via Bayesian networks and generalized raking), activity-based travel demand forecasting, vehicle ownership and type choice, residential mobility/location choice, an ML-based demographic dynamics module (DYx), vehicular emissions and energy modeling, and shared mobility demand modeling within a single microsimulation framework. UiTR has operationalized this stack for the full population of the Central Okanagan region (validated 2011-2016) and developed a portfolio of survey instruments (TTMS, ICDAS, Shared Mobility Survey, Autonomous Transit Survey, Burnaby Mobility Survey, BC ATUS, Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor Survey) to generate proprietary regional behavioral data.

UiTR is not a commercial entity. It operates as part of UBC's School of Engineering with no product pricing, licensing fees, or equity funding. Revenue is derived from competitive government research grants (NSERC Discovery, NSERC USRA, NSERC PGS D, MITACS, Innovation Canada, ECCC CAAF), graduate scholarships (CTRF/Transport Canada, NSERC), and contracted research with municipal and regional government partners. Research outputs are disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences such as TRB, CTRF, IATBR, WSTLUR, hEART, and TAC, a quarterly seminar series, and media appearances.

Name

UBC integrated Transportation Research Lab

Legal name

UBC integrated Transportation Research (UiTR) Laboratory

Website

https://uitr.ok.ubc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UiTR is an academic transportation and land use research lab at UBC Okanagan, operating the STELARIS agent-based integrated urban modeling system and a portfolio of regional travel behavior surveys to inform Canadian government policy and infrastructure decisions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transportation Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Connected Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Infrastructure (Pedestrian/Cyclist Safety) (TLAJAHAJ)

Keywords

• Transportation research
• Travel behavior modeling
• Urban microsimulation
• Activity-based modeling
• Land use research

Headquarters

HQ city

Kelowna

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: UiTR Lab receives funding from federal agencies (NSERC, Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada), provincial ministries (BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation), and municipal governments for conducting transportation research.
2. Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF) Project: Multi-year project funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada under their Climate Action and Awareness Fund. Involves collaboration with local, regional, provincial, and federal governments.
3. Research Scholarships and Awards: Graduate students receive scholarships from CTRF/Transport Canada, NSERC PGS D scholarships, and other competitive awards that support research activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UiTR Lab is an academic research facility that conducts interdisciplinary transportation and land use research. It designs and administers travel behavior surveys, develops state-of-the-art behavioral econometric and machine learning models, and builds agent-based urban microsimulation tools (notably the STELARIS system) to investigate changes in travel behavior, vehicle ownership, residential location choices, and environmental outcomes. Research outputs are delivered to government agencies to inform transportation and land use policy and infrastructure investment decisions.

Product overview

UBC integrated Transportation Research (UiTR) Laboratory is an academic research facility at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus, formerly known as CeTLUR. The lab is led by Dr. Mahmudur Fatmi and conducts interdisciplinary research in transportation and land use modeling. Rather than commercial products, UiTR's offerings consist of research methodologies, survey instruments, and modeling frameworks including the STELARIS agent-based integrated urban modeling system, various travel behavior surveys (such as BC ATUS, Shared Mobility Survey, and COVID-19 impact surveys), and advanced econometric and machine learning models for transportation analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STELARIS (Simulator for Transportation, Energy, and Land Use for Regional System) An agent-based integrated transportation and land use modeling system that integrates population demographics, location choice, vehicle ownership, and daily activities within a unified framework to predict changes in land use patterns, transportation networks, and environmental outcomes for urban regions.
• Travel Technology and Mobility Survey (TTMS) A comprehensive survey collecting information on residents' travel behavior, housing careers, technology use, vehicle ownership history, and attitudinal preferences over time.
• Impacts of COVID-19 on Daily Activities Survey (ICDAS) A survey analyzing differences in people's daily activities before and after COVID-19, focusing on transportation preferences and use of online services in the Central Okanagan region.
• Shared Mobility Survey (SMS) A survey understanding the use of shared transportation modes by Kelowna citizens including carsharing, bicycle and e-scooter sharing, ride-hailing, public transit, and taxi.
• Autonomous Transit Survey (ATS) A survey exploring user perceptions toward autonomous transit vehicles along the Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor in collaboration with the City of Kelowna and District of Lake Country.
• Burnaby Mobility Survey A comprehensive mobility survey part of the SCRAM project examining community-centered urban transportation decarbonization strategies in Burnaby communities.
• British Columbia Activity Time Use Survey (BC ATUS) A survey collecting data on time use and daily activities of British Columbia residents for transportation and climate action research.
• Okanagan Rail Trail Corridor Survey A field survey collecting information from Okanagan Rail Trail users about their preferences for potential autonomous transit services on the corridor.
• Residential Relocation and Microsimulation Models Advanced econometric and machine learning-based methods for modeling residential relocation and microsimulation within agent-based integrated urban modeling systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• ML models outperform conventional logit models by 4%-15% in demographic dynamics modeling
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Government of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal government partner providing funding through NSERC, Transport Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Supports Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF) projects and graduate scholarships.
• Province of British ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvincial government partner through BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. Collaborates on transportation and climate action research initiatives.
• City of KelownacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary municipal partner collaborating on Okanagan Rail Trail corridor research, shared mobility studies, and autonomous transit demand assessment. Co-funds research projects.
• BC TransitmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransit authority aware of autonomous transit research. Collaborates on transit-related studies in the Okanagan region.
• City of West KelownamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner in transportation and climate action research collaborations.
• Metro VancouvermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government partner in transportation and climate action research, particularly for Burnaby Mobility Survey and regional modeling.
• City of VancouvermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner in transportation and climate action research collaborations.
• Dalhousie UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaborator on CAAF project led by Dr. Ahsan Habib. Multi-institutional research team includes Dalhousie, UBC, McMaster, and University of Toronto.
• McMaster UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaborator on CAAF five-year project developing framework for transportation GHG emissions data collection and modeling.
• University of TorontomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaborator on CAAF five-year project for transportation sector GHG emissions research.
• Simon Fraser University (SFU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaborator on Burnaby Mobility Survey (SCRAM project) working with SFU's Chris Buse on community-centered transportation decarbonization.
• University of AucklandStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic collaborator for comparative transportation research across countries.
• Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic collaborator and source of graduate student researchers for the lab.
• LimeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner on Autonomous Transit Survey with interest in shared mobility research outcomes.
• RogersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner on Autonomous Transit Survey with interest in connected mobility research.
• Interior HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth authority partner for transportation and health research collaborations.
• Westbank First NationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Nation partner for transportation research in the Okanagan region.
• City of SurreyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner in transportation research collaborations.
• Metro Vancouver (as listed)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional district partner for transportation research.
• Hiroshima UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic collaborator for transportation research.
• Indian Institute of Science (IISc)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic collaborator for transportation research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies: One of the world's leading academic transportation research centers, conducting interdisciplinary research on travel behavior, transportation systems, and urban planning. Highly comparable to UiTR's focus on transportation modeling and travel behavior research.
• MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics: Global leader in transportation and logistics research, with strong modeling and supply chain expertise. Comparable as an academic research center focused on transportation systems and analytical modeling.
• CIRRELT (Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation): Major Canadian interuniversity research center focused on transportation and logistics research. Comparable as a Canadian academic transportation research consortium.
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI): Leading US transportation research center with strong focus on autonomous vehicles, transportation safety, and human factors. Comparable to UiTR's research on autonomous transit and travel behavior.
• McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics (MITL): Canadian academic transportation research institute at McMaster University. Direct peer as a Canadian academic counterpart collaborating with UiTR on CAAF research and sharing similar methodologies.
• University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute (UTRI): Canadian academic transportation research institute focused on travel behavior, transportation safety, and urban mobility. Directly comparable to UiTR's research scope and operating model.
• Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI): One of the largest transportation research centers in the world, conducting research on travel behavior, transportation systems, and policy. Comparable as a multidisciplinary academic transportation research organization.
• University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI): Premier US transportation research institute focused on traffic safety, mobility, and transportation systems. Comparable to UiTR's academic approach to transportation research and policy impact.
• Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC): Canadian consortium focused on transit research and innovation, including low-carbon and smart transit technologies. Comparable to UiTR's work on autonomous transit and shared mobility research.

Regional players

• University of Auckland Transportation Research Centre: New Zealand-based academic transportation research group with focus on travel behavior and transportation planning. Comparable as an international academic peer and existing collaborator on cross-country comparative studies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UiTRLab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uitr
• Instagraminstagram.com/uitr_lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UBC integrated Transportation Research Lab