The Transforming Transportation Ecosystem — A Call to Action

The transportation landscape is in transition. Rising congestion, failing infrastructure, changing behaviors, adapting to a more inclusive definition of mobility, the desire for cleaner and more efficient engines, and grappling with the role of autonomous vehicles and drones, to name just some of the factors, demands that we take a fresh approach to designing for mobility. Yet the rapid pace of technology development is creating emerging trends that are driving change faster than our ability to model, design, and manage them. This could potentially result in undesirable economic, environmental, and societal outcomes. The speed in which technology is remaking transportation and introducing new business models is leaving policy makers and government systems at a disadvantage, and the data needed to frame policy and new social infrastructure is becoming increasingly privatized. This white paper shares the expertise and collective wisdom of leading researchers and practitioners who are engaged in the development of next-generation mobility systems and the built environment. It summarizes the presentations and discussions conducted in a workshop in May 2017 in which participants addressed how to bridge the gap of the data and models needed to adequately and intelligently design infrastructure and systems for a cleaner, safer transportation network while expanding and reinventing the notion of mobility.