ITS America Ramps Up MOD Alliance Efforts
The Mobility on Demand (MOD) Alliance, an initiative of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, is outlining its 2019 plans to coordinate and develop seamless mobility in the United States.
ITS America created the MOD Alliance to help determine what the future of mobility should look like. Its charge is to facilitate a system in which consumers can research, book and pay for daily trips – no matter what form of transportation - on one integrated platform.
To kick off this year’s activities, the MOD Alliance is hosting an event on Capitol Hill featuring city, transit, and private sector leaders who will talk about the benefits of mobility on demand, share examples of existing and future MOD initiatives - including public-private partnerships - and discuss potential roles for Congress and federal agencies.
Participants in the roundtable:
- Laura Koprowski, VP, Government Affairs, Marketing, and Communications, Central Ohio Transit Authority
- John Kwant, VP, City Solutions, Ford
- B.J. Mahal, VP, Cities & Mobility, Mastercard
- Jeff Marootian, Director, District Department of Transportation
- Cordell Schachter, CTO, New York City DOT
- Shailen Bhatt, President & CEO, ITS America (moderator)
“This century is about moving people, data and freight, and our challenge is how to turn the concept of seamless mobility into reality,” Bhatt said. “Many choices exist, but we must make it easier for people to choose the options that best meet their needs.”
Over the course of 2019, the MOD Alliance plans to identify legislative and regulatory barriers at the federal level and develop policy recommendations to encourage deployments; facilitate partnerships at the state and local levels among relevant stakeholders; and create a framework by which the private sector can engage in providing solutions.
The Alliance will host a series of events throughout the year, beginning in Seattle on April 4th, where the focus will be key challenges and opportunities for regional collaboration. Others include:
- Forum in Washington, DC in conjunction with the ITS America annual meeting (June);
- Joint forum with the MaaS Alliance during the 2019 ITS World Congress in Singapore (October); and
- Forum in Los Angeles on lessons learned and next steps (December).
ITS America formed the MOD Alliance last year and created a task force to guide its work. Chris Murray, President and CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom North America, and Roger Millar, Secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation, are task force co-chairs. The Alliance brings public, private, and academic stakeholders together to promote the benefits of MOD and address obstacles hindering its development.
