Merry Happy New Year

It is a rite of passage - as one-year closes and we begin another - to review our accomplishments. We take stock of our successes and lessons learned and tick off goals met.

We also make lists of the objectives and key outcomes we look forward to in the New Year. Generating resolutions to give ourselves a guide to the next year’s undertakings.

It is no less in the world of transportation. There was a keen light shining on the need for equity in transportation in 2021. We made large strides in the world of autonomous vehicle technology. Just recently @TuSimple traveled 80 miles in true self-driving mode, with no driver in the vehicle. @Forbes .com published 9 of my articles on Transportation with one recalling my love affair with the @Porsche #Taycan and my test-ride at the Experience Center.

We started 2021 with COVID significantly impacting the transportation space. Professional drivers were put in harm’s way as they did their jobs, people were unable to get access to medical care, tests and eventually vaccines in part due to lack of transportation. And we are ending the year impacted by a global supply chain debacle and an increased need for professional drivers.

Big EV and AV stories included @Rivian and @Aurora going public, @Nio hit more than 3 million battery swaps, @USDOT NHTSA started an investigation of @Tesla crashes and gasoline prices exploded across the country. We finally got an infrastructure bill which will provide millions of dollars to build out electric vehicles’ networks including charging, maintenance and repair.

But there is still so much work that needs to be done. I am appalled by recent reporting on the City of Los Angeles and their disproportionate traffic stops on people of color who bike. Perplexed that we still build highways through low-income communities. And saddened by companies who allege they are concerned with equity in transportation who seem to only talk the talk without also doing the walk.

Nonetheless, the year ahead looks bright. We are not only marching towards alternative fuel sources for passenger cars, trucks and buses but there is finally an acknowledgment that the maintenance and repair side of vehicle electrification must be more robust. More autonomous vehicle companies are investing time on the movement of freight as well as rideshares. New Jersey has a project piloting AVs in underserved, and income strapped Trenton, NJ and AV companies continue to service food banks.

If we are all to continue to march, then let it be towards transportation networks that serve the country as a whole. We can appreciate the beauty of hypercars while still wanting to ensure basic movement for all that provides access to food, healthcare, jobs and housing. We can exam the policies surrounding vehicle and traffic laws and their execution without impugning all law enforcement. We can demand that politicians and legislators who governor, respect the Political Economy of Transportation Mobility and claim 2022 as the year to reach these goals.