Air travelers may be a little less frazzled this summer, thanks to a new set of protections adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in April. And many of those travelers will have the added satisfaction of having been part of the federal rulemaking process itself.

Before the rules were adopted, passengers around the country submitted comments, ideas and feedback through Regulation Room, a project of the Cornell eRulemaking Initiative (CeRI), which gives members of the public a simple way to weigh in on proposed rules that affect them.

The new protections require airlines to reimburse baggage fees for lost bags, increase compensation for passengers who get bumped from flights, disclose fees and expand the ban on long tarmac delays.

It was the second successful collaboration between Regulation Room and the DOT in the rulemaking process. In 2010, the site hosted and moderated comments on a proposed ban on texting by truck drivers.

"Last week, I was proud to announce new airline passenger protections that will help ensure people are treated fairly when they fly," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement April 26. "I'm also proud of the process. The partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation and Cornell eRulemaking Initiative on RegulationRoom.org allowed for a high level of public participation throughout the rulemaking process, and helped make government more easily accessible to the public."

CeRI is composed of researchers in computing and information science, law and conflict resolution. Earlier this year, Regulation Room was awarded a White House open-government "Leading Practices" award.

Federal agencies craft about 8,000 new rules every year; and agencies must consider and respond to public comments before adopting each. Still, few people know they have the right to comment, said Cynthia Farina, Cornell law professor and CeRI director. And for those who do, finding information about rules and figuring out how to submit comments are often daunting tasks.

"There's no civic culture of participating in rulemaking," she said. To help change that, Regulation Room offers straightforward, accessible information about each rule, hosts interactive discussions for users and simplifies the process for submitting comments to the agency.

The passenger protections are an example of how members of the public can make a real difference, Farina said.

"The partnership between DOT and CeRI has given voice to those who may previously have thought they couldn't impact rulemaking outcomes," she said. "Because of Regulation Room, their opinions were heard and taken into account in the final rule."

Regulation Room had more than 19,000 visitors during the 110-day comment period. Of those, about 1,200 registered, with about 350 submitting a total of 1,000 comments. In a later survey, 50 percent of respondents said that participating gave them a better understanding of the rulemaking process, while 84 percent said they gained a better understanding of others' views.

Of registered users who didn't comment, many explained that someone else had already made their point. As a result, the CeRI team has added an "endorse" function that allows users to emphasize common views or highlight strong arguments.

And the site is continuing to evolve in other ways, often through collaboration with other departments. Researchers from the Departments of Computer Science and of Computing and Information Science, for example, are planning to build software to help users collaborate more effectively and moderators to better focus discussions; and the CeRI team hopes to involve researchers in other fields, including psychology and political science.

Meanwhile, the team is working to boost public awareness and develop partnerships with other federal agencies. The site is currently open for discussion on the next rule, which would require commercial vehicles to replace paper logs with electronic data recorders.