How to become Transportation Planner in 2024

Transportation Planner Prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.

Transportation Planner is Also Know as

In different settings, Transportation Planner is titled as

  • Planner
  • Program Officer
  • Transportation Analyst
  • Transportation Data Programs Manager
  • Transportation Planner

Education and Training of Transportation Planner

Transportation Planner is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Transportation Planner

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Education Required for Transportation Planner

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Degrees Related to Transportation Planner

Training Required for Transportation Planner

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Transportation Planner in different industries are

What Do Transportation Planner do?

  • Prepare or review engineering studies or specifications.
  • Represent jurisdictions in the legislative or administrative approval of land development projects.
  • Direct urban traffic counting programs.
  • Develop or test new methods or models of transportation analysis.
  • Define or update information such as urban boundaries or classification of roadways.
  • Analyze information from traffic counting programs.
  • Review development plans for transportation system effects, infrastructure requirements, or compliance with applicable transportation regulations.
  • Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning.
  • Produce environmental documents, such as environmental assessments or environmental impact statements.
  • Participate in public meetings or hearings to explain planning proposals, to gather feedback from those affected by projects, or to achieve consensus on project designs.
  • Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues.
  • Design transportation surveys to identify areas of public concern.
  • Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues.
  • Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections.
  • Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities.
  • Analyze information related to transportation, such as land use policies, environmental impact of projects, or long-range planning needs.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to develop sustainable transportation strategies at the local, regional, or national level.
  • Interpret data from traffic modeling software, geographic information systems, or associated databases.
  • Design new or improved transport infrastructure, such as junction improvements, pedestrian projects, bus facilities, or car parking areas.
  • Evaluate transportation project needs or costs.
  • Prepare necessary documents to obtain planned project approvals or permits.
  • Evaluate transportation-related consequences of federal or state legislative proposals.

Qualities of Good Transportation Planner

  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.

Tools Used by Transportation Planner

  • Blueprint machines
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computers
  • Photocopying equipment

Technology Skills required for Transportation Planner

  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Caliper TransCAD
  • Citilabs Cube
  • Crash Mapping Analysis Tool CMAT
  • Dowling Associates TRAFFIX
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • ESRI ArcView
  • Geographic information system GIS software
  • Geographic information system GIS systems
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • Iteris Turbo Architecture
  • MapInfo
  • McTrans Center TSIS-CORSIM
  • McTrans HCS+
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Project
  • Microsoft Visual Basic
  • Microsoft Word
  • Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
  • PTV VISUM
  • Quadstone Paramics
  • Roundabout Delay RODEL
  • SAP software
  • SAS
  • Strong Concepts TEAPAC
  • Structured query language SQL
  • Texas Transportation Institute TTI Progression Analysis and Signal System Evaluation Routine PASSER
  • Traffic signal software
  • Transportation management system TMS software
  • TRL Software TRANSYT
  • Visual Solutions VisSIM
  • Web browser software