January 3, 2022
ITS America: Welcome to 2022
Happy New Year! Team ITSA is rested and ready to embrace 2022. Coming off an energizing annual meeting in Charlotte last month, we are excited to continue the work that supports our vision of a better future transformed by intelligent mobility – one that is safer, greener, and smarter.
Here is a high-level overview of key 2022 priorities:
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Implementation and Legislative Focus
The IIJA has set in motion historic investments that will transform transportation and help create opportunities for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live. Expanded technologies are eligible under the new law – but investing in them is a choice. ITS America will use our policy and programmatic resources to work with all of you as we work to implement the programs and policies included in the legislation. This effort will include 1) evaluating and helping inform you about opportunities within the law to develop and deploy transportation technologies; and 2) engaging with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as it implements the bill’s programs and policies.
Our IIJA implementation process is designed to:
- Share information related to new transportation technology programs and eligibilities within new programs; changes to FAST Act technology programs and eligibilities within existing programs; and IIJA grant opportunities.
- Engage with USDOT on IIJA implementation, including by informing it of ITS America and member positions and recommendations for implementing the law, including programs and policy requiring further clarification, development, or implementation; participating in outreach and guidance stakeholder opportunities, including submitting written comments when appropriate; advocating for ITS America and member participation in advisory committees authorized or reauthorized in IIJA; and inviting USDOT to present during our various meetings, events, etc.
On the legislative front, ITS America will continue to advocate for a federal framework to ensure the safe deployment of automated vehicles; push for expansion of Mobility on Demand; and track oversight over IIJA implementation and the 2022 appropriations process.
Committee Focus Areas
In 2021, we launched our new committees – they did amazing work and have exciting plans for this year.
- The Automated Vehicles Committee, having developed and released AV Principles late last year, will focus on deploying the principles through programmatic work and promoting them within the industry.
- The Emerging Technologies Committee will continue its focus and consideration of new, cutting-edge technologies in the mobility realm and begin to develop policy around Urban Air Mobility and Personal Delivery Devices. It will also launch a new task force focused on Digital Twinning.
- The Mobility on Demand (MOD) Committee will concentrate on identifying solutions for barriers to MOD and continue to work on Universal Basic Mobility and mobility wallets.
- The Smart Infrastructure Committee will primarily focus on spearheading ITS America’s work implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), with a new working group that includes representatives from all six committees.
- The Smart Infrastructure Committee, along with the Automated Vehicles Committee, will also co-launch a new Working Groups focused on cybersecurity.
- The Sustainability Committee will focus on evaluating IIJA sustainability and resiliency policies and programs for implementation opportunities, continue its work on advancing a Road Usage Charge, and begin efforts focused on transportation and infrastructure resiliency.
- The V2X Committee will continue its efforts related to the future of V2X, including leading the industry conversation on how to approach deployment in a limited spectrum environment and working with a researcher to model deployment in that environment. It also plans to launch a new working group, V2X Decoded, which will focus on making V2X accessible to non-technical audiences and standardizing industry terms.
Look out for an email later this week with all of the 2022 committee information, including a full list of the task forces and working groups, new sign-up links, and information on committee voting seats. If you are interested in becoming involved – or more involved – now is the time!
MobilityXX
Last year, to highlight why diverse leadership in transportation is critical to achieving more equitable outcomes for everyone, we partnered with WTS International and The Ray to create MobilityXX, with a focus on increasing female representation in the industry. We developed and launched the pledge program in October, which asks organizations to commit to help us increase the number of women in transportation by 10 percent in 10 years. In 2022, we will continue to build awareness by growing the list of pledge commitments, expanding our outreach, developing additional partnerships, and continuing to host events – including a gender equity session or event during the 2022 ITS World Congress in Los Angeles. If your organization hasn’t yet signed the pledge, please do so here – and if you’d like to see which groups have already made the commitment, you can do that here.
Welcoming the World to Los Angeles and Digital Events
In addition to the annual meeting, ITS America planned and delivered a robust series of digital events in 2021 and will continue to host events this year – hopefully adding more in-person opportunities to see colleagues and share information. And of course, we are thrilled to bring the ITS World Congress back to the United States for the first time since 2014.
Our digital series, which kicks off this month, will focus a handful of topic areas, including but not limited to:
- Big data
- Sustainability
- Research
- IIJA implementation
- Resiliency
- Member-planned webinars
Finally, the ITS World Congress will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center September 18-22, and we are deep into planning efforts. The theme is Transformation by Transportation and the session tracks are: equitable and seamless mobility; path to Vision Zero; technology from entry to the last mile; intelligent, connected and automated transportation; organizing for successful policy, governance, business and international cooperation; sustainability and resiliency; and digital infrastructure. The call for contributions is open – we can’t wait to hear all your great ideas! The deadline for submissions is March 1. Sponsorship and exhibit packages are also available– please check out this link for more information. There is much more to come – we will keep you posted throughout the year but please mark your calendars!
Here is to a successful and safe year – thank you, as always, for all you do to keep people moving!
