The new advisory committee instituted by the Department of Transportation comprises experts from critical fields and lines of work including advocates from local governments. There are other experts from the transport industry, labor bodies, and academia as well.
WASHINGTON – The country today witnessed the introduction/launch of the much-awaited TTAC which stands for the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has instituted this body to provide advice to the department and the Secretary of Transportation regarding the various plans and approaches for innovation in the field of transportation across the country.
The Advisory Committee has members belonging to diverse educational and professional backgrounds and were selected to ensure that their diverse opinions and perspectives reach out to all stakeholders. These are going to be critical given their relevance that spans across sectors. Because each member is going to come with useful insights regarding different geographies and would have distinct areas of expertise, their contribution is valued and integral.
There are 27 TTAC members and they comprise experts from not just the field of academics, but highly reputable think tanks, public sector entities, labor organizations, and industry. They are going to cover important topics such as, but not limited to automation, cybersecurity, vehicle and driver safety, transport and logistics laws, accessibility, government, entrepreneurship, business privacy, equity, and a lot more.
In the words of Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, “We are living in a time filled with unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented challenges in transportation.. The deep expertise and diverse perspectives of this impressive group will provide advice to ensure the future of transportation is safe, efficient, sustainable, equitable, and transformative.”
The members of the TTAC will have 2-year terms and may get reappointed. The US DOT made a conscious decision to select professional individuals with in-depth knowledge of the industries or sectors they belong to. The result is the most diverse and comprehensive perspectives. This membership is going to be an unpaid position.
The first TTAC meeting is dated to be held on January 18th. The committee intends to talk about and find solutions to various issues such as:
- Better ways and policies to deploy the latest/emerging technologies across the industry in a very safe, secure, and environmentally friendly manner so that the advancement can benefit everyone
- Exploring and defining better ways to promote better cross-modal integration of the latest and emerging technologies to ensure easier and faster automation
- Plans and policies to encourage innovation that can ensure and support a safer and more productive U.S. workforce, all the while ensuring economic competitiveness and higher job quality
- Setting up a highly secure and efficient framework to exchange and share transformative transportation data across stakeholders and this date includes technologies across public and private sectors
- Ways to identify and improve cybersecurity solutions to protect privacy across the infrastructure and transportation systems
The members of the TTAC are:
- Nat Beuse – Vice President of Safety, Aurora
- Laura Chace – President and CEO, ITS America
- Mark Chung – Executive Vice President of Roadway Practice, National Safety Council
- Catherine Ross – Harry West Professor of City and Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology
- John Bozzella – President and CEO, Alliance for Automotive Innovation
- Jim Burg – President and CEO, James Burg Trucking Company
- Carol Flannagan – Research Professor and Director of the Center for the Management of Information for Safe and Sustainable Transportation, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
- Shelley Francis – Co-founder & Managing Partner, EV Noire
- Amie Stepanovich – VP of U.S. Policy, Future of Privacy Forum
- Jeffrey Tumlin – Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
- Kelly Funkhouser – Associate Director of Vehicle Technology, Consumer Reports
- Mayor Kate Gallego – Mayor, City of Phoenix, AZ
- Matthew Colvin – Chief of Staff of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO
- Steve Dellenback – Vice President of Intelligent Systems, Southwest Research Institute
- Thomas Dwiggins – Chief Fire Officer, Chandler Fire Department
- Kim Lucas – Director of Mobility and Infrastructure, City of Pittsburgh
- Tekedra Mawakana – Co-Chief Executive Officer, Waymo
- Swati Mylavarapu – Co-Founder, Incite
- Steve Shladover – Research Engineer, University of California Berkeley
- Bryant Walker Smith – Associate Professor, University of South Carolina School of Law
- Raj Rajkumar – Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University
- Bryan Reimer – Research Scientist, Center for Transportation and Logistics/AgeLab at MIT
- Cole Scandaglia – Senior Legislative Representative and Policy Advisor, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Bernard Soriano – Deputy Director, California DMV
- Eileen Vélez-Vega – Secretary, Puerto Rico Department of Public Works and Transportation
- Maria Trinidad (“Triny”) Willerton - President and Founder, It Could Be Me
- Carol Tyson – Government Affairs Liaison, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
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