Matthew BoyleThe US DOT advisory committee is meant to advise on transportation innovation strategies, addressing both opportunities and challenges in the evolving transportation landscape. Comprising 27 members from various sectors including public, labor, safety, research, and business, the committee aims to provide insights to ensure transportation’s future is safe, effective, sustainable, equitable, and transformative.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasizes the importance of the committee’s diverse expertise and perspectives in shaping the future of transportation. The committee will focus on implementing emerging technologies that promote health, equity, and environmental sustainability, as well as policies to enhance economic competitiveness and job quality while supporting a healthy workforce.
Key members include Laura Chace, President and CEO of ITS America, Chief Tom Dwiggins of the Chandler, Arizona Fire Department, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Mark Chung, Executive Vice President of Roadway Practice at the National Safety Council. Their insights and contributions aim to guide the Department of Transportation in integrating emerging technologies such as connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity into the transportation system.
The committee’s second meeting is scheduled for January 18, and members will serve two-year terms with the possibility of reappointment.
Pioneering Transportation Innovation: US DOT Advisory Committee for Safety, Sustainability, and Equity
Transportation is facing both opportunities and challenges, according to Buttigieg, in the face of rising pedestrian traffic fatalities, the introduction of self-driving cars and flying taxis, and the electrification of cars, buses and government fleets in addition to the difficulties faced by several transit agencies.
According to Laura Chace, president and CEO of ITS America, who will serve on the committee, it is surely past time for a committee of this kind to be actively advancing an all-encompassing strategy for making use of transportation technology.
It’s not about the technology itself, Chace continued. It’s about how those solutions can really lower deaths on our roads, lower the emissions we see from transportation, help increase the effectiveness of our transportation systems, and increase equity if they are integrated on a larger, more comprehensive scale.
Driving Change: Government Leaders and Safety Experts Unite on US DOT Advisory Committee
Chief Tom Dwiggins of the Chandler, Arizona, Fire Department, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Jeffrey Tumlin, Director of Transportation at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, are among the government representatives on the committee. Kim Lucas is the director of mobility and infrastructure for the City of Pittsburgh.
Gallego said in a statement to Smart Cities Dive,”I am honored and excited to serve as Phoenix’s voice on the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee. “I’m looking forward to how this group will use its exchange of expertise and knowledge to improve people’s lives across the country. ” Cities of Phoenix are ground zero for innovation in transit and transportation, and as we continue benefiting and learning from big federal infrastructure investments.”
Mark Chung, the National Safety Council’s executive vice president of roadway practice, was likewise chosen. In an email, Chung stated that “this appointment is an opportunity to immediately advise and contribute towards the department’s vision for a revolutionary and safe mobility system in the U. S.”
Charting the Future: US DOT Advisory Committee’s Agenda for Transportation Innovation and Security
The committee plans to address a number of topics, including:
- ways to implement emerging technologies that are healthy, equal, and environmentally friendly.
- policies to promote economic competitiveness and job quality while expanding and supporting a healthy and productive U.S. workforce.
- ways to promote the personal and public sectors ‘ stable exchange of important transportation data.
- The DOT can use a variety of strategies to enhance privacy and cybersecurity safeguards for infrastructure and transportation systems.
For the integration of emerging technologies, such as connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence, and superior cybersecurity for our transportation system, I would really like to see some road maps and frameworks developed from this by the U.S. DOT, according to Chace.
On January 18, the committee will hold its second meeting. Members of the nbsp will serve two-year terms and may be reappointed.
Summary: US DOT Committee to Shape Transportation Innovation Strategies
- On December 29, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the creation of a committee to provide DOT and the secretary of transportation with advice on transportation innovation strategies.
- There are 27 members of the committee, including representatives from the public, labor, safety, research, and business sectors.
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated in a statement that the “deep expertise and different perspectives of this remarkable group will provide advice to ensure the future of transportation is safe, effective, sustainable, equitable, and transformative.”
