My name is Rick (he/him), and I’m a masters student at the University of Toronto Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, supervised by Amer Shalaby. My research focuses on the criticality and redundancy of public transit in the context of equity. After graduation, I aspire to be a future transportation planner, and applying what I’ve learned to projects.

Broadly, I have an interest in promoting public transit and active transportation, making our existing transit more equitable, and building the “15 minute city”, These things are extremely important if we want to reduce the effects of climate change on our cities and make our cities more liveable.

On the weekends, you can find me cycling, playing video games (Cities: Skylines and LoL), and learning Ultimate Frisbee (badly). The best movie I’ve seen recently is Shang-Chi.

I also occasionally contribute to my blog. I write about a variety of topics not limited to just transit (but it will probably be the main topic of my blog). Please note that the views expressed on my blog are mine alone, and not the views of any past or present employer.

rick.liu@mail.utoronto.ca

Google Scholar | Researchgate | Linkedin | Strava

About Me

Education

Masters of Applied Science and Engineering Candidate, University of Toronto, Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering

• Supervised by Prof. Amer Shalaby at the Transit Analytics Lab
• Anticipated graduation in Fall 2022

Bachelors of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering

• Graduated in Spring 2020
• Participated in the PEY Co-op (16 month full time co-op term) program

Work Experience

University of Toronto Transit Analytics Lab

Research Assistant, 2020-2022

• Contributed to the TransitCenter Equity Dashboard project
• Used python and OpenTripPlanner to determine transit travel times

City of Toronto Transportation Services

Technical Trainee (16 month co-op), 2018-2019

• Contributed to the Vehicle for Hire Bylaw Review, and King Street Transit Project Dashboard
• Used python (Jupyter), QGIS, and PostgreSQL for the analysis

University of Toronto Transportation and Air Quality Research Group

Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2018

• Assessed the performance of air pollution models using VBA, and ArcGIS

Peer Reviewed Publications

1. Da Silva, D., Klumpenhouwer, W., Karner, A., Robinson, M., Liu, R., Shalaby, A. (2022). Living on a Fare: Modeling and Quantifying the Effects of Fare Budgets on Transit Access and Equity. Journal of Transport Geography.

2. Liu, R; Palm, M; Shalaby, A; Farber, S. (2020). A social equity lens on bus bridging and ride-hailing responses to unplanned subway disruptions. Journal of Transport Geography.

3. Fallah-Shorshani M., Minet L., Liu R., Plante C., Goudreau S., Oiamo T., Smargiassi A., Weichenthal S., Hatzopoulou M. (2018). Capturing the spatial variability of noise levels based on a short-term monitoring campaign and comparing noise surfaces against personal exposures collected through a panel study. Environmental Research.

4. Minet L., Liu R., Valois M., Xu J., Weichenthal S., Hatzopoulou M. (2018). Developement and Comparison of Air Pollution Exposure Surfaces Derived From On-Road Mobile Monitoring and Short-Term Stationary Sidewalk Measurements. Environmental Science & Technology.

Conference Papers

Papers that also involved a poster presentation are marked with *

1. Liu R.*, Shalaby A. (2022) An Equity Lens on Public Transit Vulnerability and Importance Using a Time-Expanded Network Approach. 101st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., 2022

2. Liu, R*; Palm, M; Shalaby, A; Farber, S. (2021). A Social Equity Lens on Bus Bridging and Ride-hailing Responses to Unplanned Subway Disruptions. TRB Conference Proceedings. 100th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

3. Dumas R., Zhu C., Coleman J., Liu R., Chan H., Harpalani A. (2020). A Comprehensive Investigation into Ridesourcing Company Activities in Toronto. TRB Conference Proceedings. 99th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

4. Liu R.*, Minet L., Shekarrizfard M., Weichenthal S., Hatzopoulou M. (2018). Short-Term Exposure to Ultrafine Particles, Black Carbon, and Noise: Comparison Between Panel Data and Mobility-Based Exposures Derived from Land Use Regression Models. 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

5. Minet L., Liu R., Valois M., Xu J., Weichenthal S., Hatzopoulou M. (2018). A Comparison Of Air Pollution Exposure Surfaces Developed Via Mobile And Fixed-Site Monitoring Protocols Against Personal Exposures. 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

6. Fallah-Shorshani M., Minet L., Liu R., Plante C., Goudreau S., Smargiassi A., Weichenthal S., Hatzopoulou M. (2018). Capturing The Spatial Variability Of Noise Levels Using Land Use Regression Models And Comparing Exposure Surfaces Against Personal Exposures Collected Through A Panel Study. 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

Presentations

1. Liu R., A Social Equity Lens on Bus Bridging and Ride-hailing Responses to Unplanned Subway Disruptions. (2020). TransitData 2020 Symposium

Teaching Assistantships

CIV100: Mehanics

• Teaching Assistant for Fall 2021
• Marking Assignments

CME263: Probability Theory for Civil and Mineral Engineers

• Teaching Assistant for Spring 2021
• Teaching Tutorials

Volunteer Work

Canadian Society for Civil Engineering - Student Competition Committee

Technical Director (Concrete Canoe), 2021-2022

• Determined all technical requirements, rules, and regulations that Universities entering the Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition (CNCCC) have to follow

General Volunteer (Concrete Canoe), 2020-2021

• Developed the livestreaming plan for the 2021 virtual edition of the CNCCC
• Consulted with the Technical Director for rules, regulations, and requests for information

University of Toronto Civil and Mineral Engineers Graduate Students Association

Communications Director, 2020-2021

• Handled communications between the club, and students, industry partners, and the faculty

University of Toronto Concrete Canoe Club

Hull Design Lead, 2019-2020

• Designed the canoe using solidworks and AutoCAD

Co-Captain, 2018-2019

• Led the team to a 4th place finish at the 2019 CNCCC
• Managed an executive team of 8, and a team of 30

Concrete Lead, 2017-2018

• Designed the concrete mix for the 2018 Canoe, and performed weekly strength test on preliminary mix designs

General Member, 2016-2017

• Helped team leads whenever help was needed (such as separating fibers)

The Cannon (UofT Engineering Newspaper)

Editor-in-Chief, 2019-2020

• Managed the publishing process for the newspaper, contributed to the layout process, and wrote a column

Design Head, 2017-2019

• Managed the layout, graphics, and photography teams for the newspaper
• Led the layout process using Adobe InDesign and Illustrator
• Occasionally contributed a written article to the paper

Graphics Head, 2016-2017

• Developed graphics for articles in the newspaper

Layout Team Member 2015-2016

• Assisted with the layout process