As 2020 draws to an end, we decided to take a moment to look back at the most unexpected and unprecedented year that movmi (and the entire world) has witnessed. With the COVID‑19 pandemic, political divisions intensifying, economic inequality growing, and of course the climate crisis, it is easy to believe we live in a hopeless time. Yet in 2020 we saw people around the world come together to help others against all odds. We saw massive changes in the way we live and how we move around and systems that were quickly put in place to assist these widespread revisions – the new 2020 mobility network.
It is these silver linings that will carry us forward into 2021 and beyond, and will make us a better and stronger society. We have been inspired this year by so many men and women in the mobility industry. We’ve read many encouraging blog posts, listened to lively and energizing podcasts and have been moved and motivated by countless influential people within this sector.
In this article, we make a list (and check it twice) featuring some of our favourite mobility blogs, podcasts and influencers of 2020. Check out more of our blog posts here.
2020 Mobility Round-up: Top Blogs, Podcasts & Industry Leaders
2020 mobility MOMENTS: TOP blogs
The Urban Mobility Daily
The Urban Mobility Daily is the official blog of Autonomy and is dedicated to helping professionals understand the Urban Mobility Landscape in Paris, France and the EU. Their carefully curated content is sourced from the Urban Mobility Daily team as well as from members of the greater Autonomy community, ensuring a diversity of ideas, opinions and advice about the most important and compelling topics in mobility.
Read The Urban Mobility Daily blog here.
Streetsblog
Streetsblog connects people to information about how to reduce car dependence/ownership and improve conditions for walking, biking, and transit. Since 2006, their reporters have broken important stories about efforts to prevent pedestrian injuries and deaths, build out bicycle networks, and make transit more useful. Their writing raises the profile of these issues with policy makers and makes topics such as parking requirements and induced traffic accessible to a wider audience.
Read Streetsblog here.
Forth
The Forth blog focuses on transforming the way we move around by advancing electric, smart and shared transportation through industry innovation, demonstration projects, advocacy for intelligent laws and policies and engaging with the transportation community. Forth believes that electric and smart transportation have the ability to change our lives and communities for the better. To accomplish this goal we need to ensure that we are promoting diversity, equity and inclusion across all our our mobility operations.
Read the Forth blog here.
Bloomberg CityLab
Bloomberg CityLab reports on the world’s cities, communities, and neighborhoods: how they work, the challenges they face, and the solutions they need. These urban challenges include mass transit, traffic and congestion, education, affordable housing, pollution and sustainability. The website has extensive reading that includes, research reports, opinion pieces and academic studies across all topics pertaining to global current affairs.
Read Bloomberg Citylab blog here.
2020 mobility MOMENTS: TOP podcasts
The Mobility Podcast
The Mobility Podcast is a podcast about mobility, technology, people, and the policies that affect all of them. Hosted by: Greg Rogers (the Director of Government Affairs and Mobility Innovation at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), where he advocates for sound policies to support the development of automated vehicles, electric vehicles, and connected vehicles,) Greg Rodriguez (who uses his unique experience working on Capitol Hill and as in-house counsel for a transportation planning agency to provide strategic information, policy insight and legal assistance on emerging transportation technologies,) and Pete Gould (Founder of Shared Mobility Strategies who shares that expertise and the insights gleaned over the last 10+ years with a wide range of client organizations from the public, private, and policy thought leader communities.)
Listen to The Mobility Podcast here.
The Autonocast Podcast
“Zero BS conversations about automation, autonomy, self-driven cars & trucks, electrification, mobility and the politics & policy around the future of transportation
Autonocast is a weekly podcast that discusses the future of transportation Alex Roy, Director of Special Operations at Argo and founder of No Parking, The Drive and Noho Sound podcasts, Edward Niedermeyer, Director of Communications at PAVE and Kirsten Korosec, Senior reporter at TechCrunch who writes about all things transportation.
Listen to The Autonocast Podcast here.
The MICROMobility Podcast
The Micromobility Podcast focuses on how quickly micromobility services are adopted, which business models are successful, how capital is allocated, policy changes, consumer reaction and much more. The podcast is hosted by Oliver Bruce, lightweight EV government consultant and an investor focusing on startups working on the future of transport and Horace Dediu, analyst and Co-Founder of Micromobility Industries.
Listen to the Micromobility Podcast here.
The CoMotion news podcast
CoMotion focuses on bringing together the new world of the urban mobility and takes a look at the revolution that is set to transform every city in the world, large and small. Inspired from their CoMotion events in L.A. and Miami, this show features guests from across the country and focuses on city case studies that an inspire other communities.
Listen to the CoMotion News Podcast here.
2020 mobility MOMENTS: TOP leaders
Our list of inspiring influencers within the industry was a very long one this year, many of which have worked alongside movmi and have been featured on our blog and webinar interviews, such as Crissy Ditmore, a 14-year veteran of the transportation industry and assists government partners in developing technology solutions while ensuring the public’s interest. Crissy has also been part of our ‘Women in Shared Mobility‘ series. Augustin Friedel, a well-known shared mobility expert with passion for micro mobility, mobility on demand service and public private partnerships, was a member of our Covid-19 Taskforce back at the beginning of the pandemic and has co-written articles with our CEO Sandra Phillips. Here is the shortlist of our top mobility influencers of 2020:
Tiffany chu: ceo & co-founder of remix
Tiffany cares about our cities, communities, and equity. In the past, she was a Fellow at Code for America, launched the UX practice at Zipcar, worked as an innovation consultant at Continuum, and wrote for Dwell. With a background in architecture and urban planning, she constantly thinks about how the built environment of our cities can be better designed for people and our planet.
She is now the CEO & Cofounder at Remix, a collaborative software platform for 350+ cities to plan their mobility future.
Follow her here.
piia karjalainen: Secretary General at MaaS Alliance
Piia Karjalainen is one of the leading experts in mobility-as-a-service and a driving force within MaaS Alliance, helping to bring some of the top minds in the industry together. She is a true thought leader on the future of mobility and has created a network of support within the MaaS community, helping to drive innovation and new partnerships.
Follow her here.
BERN GRUSH: Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Harmonize Mobility Inc (HMi)
Bern Grush is a researcher, writer, speaker, consultant and innovator in the evolving world of ground transportation and its digitalization. His work includes preparing our cities’ transit thinking, planning, and systems for automated vehicles, as well as preparing our sidewalks and curbs for automated drop-offs and pickups (both passenger and goods), road-user charging, and parking pricing. Bern brings 45 years of passion and experience as a Systems Design Engineer with specializations in Machine Vision, Geographic Information Systems and Human Factors Psychology.
Follow him here.
tanya castle: Regional Director of Growth – North America and LATAM at Spare
Tanya Castle is currently the Regional Director of Growth across North and Latin America at Spare but prior to this role she filled many positions within the sector, gaining valuable experience from each role, including Business Development Manager for PBSC Urban Solutions Inc. where she conducted international sales and marketing (B2B and B2G) of hardware and software (SAAS) with a specific focus on Europe, Africa, Central Asia, India and New Zealand. She is a leader in building effective partnerships and creating and growing networks at an international level.
Follow her here.
Dr. ev Shelley: E-Mobility Consultant & Co-Founder, EVHybridNoire
Dr. Ev Shelley is a nationally recognized E-Mobility professional focused on equity initiatives with electric, connected, autonomous & shared vehicles. She serves as the Managing Partner & Co-Founder of EVNoire Mobility Intelligence Consulting Group and is a leading CASE Strategist.
She is also the Co-Founder of EVHybridNoire, an award-winning organization with the largest network of diverse EV drivers in the country. This multi-cultural 501c3 organization focuses on E-Mobility, disadvantaged communities (DACs), environmental equity, providing access for all to next gen vehicles (electric vehicles), expanding charging infrastructure, education, public policy advocacy as well as providing resources and access to underserved and diverse communities around affordable clean and sustainable energy vehicles and platforms.
Follow her here.
monica araya: Transport lead at Climate Champions
Monica Araya works toward a world without emissions. She has lived and worked in Latin America, Europe and the US and has had roles in government, private sector and civil society. In 2020, she joined the Climate Champions team to accelerate the global adoption of emission-free mobility as part of the Race to Zero campaign for COP26, the global UN climate conference in 2021.
Over 20 years, she has worked with climate activists, strategists, communication experts, champions of electric mobility, utilities, car dealers, automakers, charging infrastructure providers, urban activists and lawmakers. In 2019, Araya was named “Crusader of the Year” for her role in advancing electric mobility in Costa Rica, her home country. BMW and TED appointed her as mentor to “Next Visionaries,” an initiative exploring the future of mobility.
Follow her here.
sam s. starr: Cycle Logistics & Sustainable Urban Freight Expert
Sam is on a mission to advance sustainable transport and logistics across North America. He has over a decade of experience in global and service logistics, and final mile delivery, including work for FedEx, Flash Global, and US Pack Logistics. He has a Masters of Engineering Leadership in Urban Systems from the University of British Columbia, with other degrees in Electrical and Systems Engineering. Sam is highly passionate about sustainable cities and mobility solutions, and this passion has allowed him to pivot into the field of advancing sustainable transport and cycle logistics across North America.
Follow him here.
Interested in learning more about the influential women who are shaping the future of our transportation industry? Check out our ‘Women in Shared Mobility’ series here.
