Information to Consider Before Taking Part in this Research Study.
Study Title: Pilot Application of Biometric-Based Vehicle Occupancy Detection on Managed Lanes for Congestion Reduction, “USF Carpool Study”
Overview: You are being asked to take part in a research study, called the “USF Carpool Study”. The information in this document should help you to decide if you would like to participate. The sections in this Overview provide the basic information about the study. More detailed information is provided in the remainder of the document.
Study Staff: This study is being led by Sara Hendricks who is a senior research associate at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida. This person is called the Principal Investigator. Other approved research staff may act on behalf of the Principal Investigator.
) is being conducted in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area and Tampa Bay area and in Utah. The Study is supported/sponsored by National Institute for Congestion Reduction. The purpose of the study is help reduce traffic congestion and emissions by encouraging alternatives to driving alone such as carpooling. This project seeks to pilot the use of an innovative biometric vehicle occupancy detection technology for purposes of measuring its accuracy in occupancy count validation (OCV) and delivery of immediate messages to carpoolers and vanpools. It is expected that as policymakers look to deploy congestion pricing and road use charges in the future, accurate vehicle occupant counting will be an increasingly important tool to incentivize carpooling and vanpooling to reduce traffic congestion. If successful, this technology, paired with relevant and immediate rewards, could help move more people in fewer vehicles.
You will also be directed by the app to retake a photo at the end of the trip. We are asking each person in the carpool to download the app and take a photo of themselves and others in the same carpool for purposes of collecting more data.
For purposes of the study, an actual photo is being taken and stored for validation. Our team will examine the data to determine if the system classified the number of people in the vehicle correctly. We expect the process should take you less than 5 minutes per day. You also will be asked to fill out a brief survey regarding how easy it is to understand and use the app.
Participants: You are being asked to take part because you have been identified by one of the following entities as a potential carpool tester: South Florida Commuter Services, Commute Tampa Bay, University of South Florida, and RideFlag Technologies, Inc. We want to see how often this app correctly counts the number of people in your vehicle.
Voluntary Participation: Your participation is voluntary. You do not have to participate and may stop your participation at any time. There will be no penalties or loss of benefits or opportunities if you do not participate or decide to stop once you start.
Benefits, Risk, and Compensation: There is no cost to participate. You will be compensated up to $190.00 total for your participation in using the app to record vehicle occupancy and take up to two surveys. We do not know if you will receive any other benefits from your participation. This research is considered minimal risk. Minimal risk means that study risks are the same as the risks you face in daily life.
Confidentiality: Even if we publish the findings from this study, we will keep your study information private and confidential. Anyone with the authority to look at your records must keep them confidential.
Total Number of Participants
A total of up to 90 individuals who commute to work in two or three-person carpools will participate in the study at all sites.
Alternatives / Voluntary Participation / Withdrawal
You do not have to participate in this research study.
You should only take part in this study if you want to volunteer. You should not feel that there is any pressure to take part in the study. You are free to participate in this research or withdraw at any time. There will be no penalty or loss of benefits you are entitled to receive if you stop taking part in this study.
Benefits
The potential longer-term benefits of participating in this research study include supporting real-time validation of carpools to provide you access to managed lanes, parking privileges and other rewards. Another potential longer-term benefit is reducing traffic congestion by moving more people in fewer vehicles.
Risks
This research is considered to be minimal risk. That means that the risks associated with this study are the same as what you face every day. There are no known additional risks to those who take part in this study.
Compensation
You will be compensated up to $190.00 in Amazon electronic gift card value for your participation, delivered via coupon code to the email address that you provide to us. Compensation includes $10.00 e-gift card value for downloading the RideFlag app on your phone and using it for at least one carpool trip to or from work. A carpool trip is a one-way trip to or from work.
Compensation also includes $5.00 e-gift card value for each additional carpool trip thereafter up to a maximum of 36 one-way carpool trips taken within 30 days of your start of the app test. Finally, a $5.00 e-gift card value will be provided for completing a short survey about your experience using the app. Participants will find a tally of their carpool trips while using the app, under the “Trip History” menu item. You may log no more than four (4) carpool trips in one day.
Compensation will be delivered to each participant via email after completion of your participation. If you withdraw for any reason from the study before completing 36 one-way trips, then you will be compensated up to $5.00 per one way carpool trip using the RideFlag app, which you completed prior to withdrawing.
Costs
It will not cost you anything to take part in the study.
Privacy and Confidentiality
We will do our best to keep your records private and confidential. We cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. Your personal information may be disclosed if required by law. Certain people may need to see your data. These data are your phone number so that researchers may send SMS messages containing instructions, email address to which an e-gift card will be sent, the type and year of phone you use (iOS, Android, other), and data generated from the RideFlag app, including date/start and date/end times of each logged carpool trip taken by the RideFlag app, vehicle occupancy, trip distance, and the photo to compare with vehicle occupancy detection data.
Individuals that may have access to these data during the study include:
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The research team, including the Principal Investigator, research associates, and graduate students assigned to the project.
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Certain government and university people who need to know more about the study. For example, individuals who provide oversight on this study may need to look at your records. This is done to make sure that we are doing the study in the right way. They also need to make sure that we are protecting your rights and your safety.
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RideFlag app developers
We may publish what we learn from this study. Your personal data will not be associated with the trip data nor your survey responses. If we publish the trip data and survey data, we will not include your name or photo. We will not publish anything that would let people know who you are.
When completing an online survey, it is possible, although unlikely, that unauthorized individuals could gain access to your responses. Confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. No guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet. However, your participation in this online survey involves risks similar to a person’s everyday use of the Internet. If you complete and submit an anonymous survey and later request your data be withdrawn, this may or may not be possible as the researcher may be unable to extract anonymous data from the database.
Data collected for this research will be stored on a cloud server contracted by RideFlag. A cloud server is a pooled, centralized server resource that is hosted and delivered over a network—typically the Internet. Data will also be stored on servers at the Center for Urban Transportation Research, located at the University of South Florida in the United States. RideFlag Technologies, Inc. is located at 4230 Sherwoodtowne Blvd., Mississauga, ON L4Z 2G6, Canada.
Your personal information collected for this research will be kept as long as it is needed to conduct this research. Once your participation in the research is over, your information will be stored in accordance with applicable policies and regulations. Your permission to use your personal data will not expire unless you withdraw it in writing. You may withdraw or take away your permission to use and disclose your information at any time. You do this by sending written notice to Sara Hendricks, the Principal Investigator, by email to
hendrick@usf.edu with “USF # 2117907510” in the subject heading, or by U.S. Mail at the following address: Attn: Sara J. Hendricks, Re: USF # 2117907510, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, ENG030, Tampa, 33620.
After the research is completed, you have a right to see the information about you, as allowed by USF policies.
You can get the answers to your questions, concerns, or complaints.
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this study, call Sara Hendricks, Principal Investigator, at 813-974-9801 or email at
hendrick@usf.edu.
You can refuse to sign this form. If you do not sign this form, you will not be able to take part in this research study. If you do sign this form, you can revoke your authorization at any time by sending a letter clearly stating that you wish to withdraw your participation in the research. If you revoke your participation:
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You will no longer be a subject in this research study;
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We will stop collecting new information about you;
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We will use the information collected prior to the revocation of your authorization. This information may already have been used or shared with others, or we may need it to complete and protect the validity of the research.
