Shifts in Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure in a COVID-19 World By Michele Satterlund, Senior Vice President, Government Relations – State, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
A CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE BARRANCO AT VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA REVEALS THE NEED FOR THE U.S. TO FOCUS ON ITS MOBILITY SYSTEMS TO MEET EVOLVING CONSUMER DEMAND.
VW’s throwback and futuristic, all-electric ID. Buzz is based on a dedicated EV platform that will underpin future Volkswagen electric vehicles.
hile the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create an environment of unpredictability, the one certainty is that the way in which people previously commuted to their jobs — and the way in which goods and services were traditionally delivered — is likely changed forever. It is still too early to predict the entire spectrum of mobility changes that are destined to occur, but one thing is for sure — the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fact that our mobility systems are critical to our day-to-day lives and serve as the backbone of the U.S. economy. Now, more than ever, if the U.S. is to keep pace with the mobility advancements being made in other countries, government and business must address the need for an infrastructure strategy that contemplates a future mobility system that is both autonomous and electric. There is an up-front cost to ensuring a robust infrastructure network that can accommodate autonomous (AV) and electric vehicles (EV); however, the costs of not making these investments will be even greater as societal shifts demand mobil-
4
AutoAeroSiteGuide
ShiftsInMobility.indd 4
ity systems that provide better health protection measures. Given the public health guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control that recommends limiting contact with others, consumers are rethinking shared transportation models. In a survey conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value,1 which polled more than 25,000 U.S. adults in April 2020, respondents indicated they plan to reduce their use of, or give up completely, mobility options such as ride-sharing, peer-to-peer networks, and public transportation. Some 17 percent of the respondents indicated they plan to use their personal vehicles more, and more than half indicated they would use ride-sharing apps less, or stop using them altogether, with 20 percent saying they will no longer use any form of public transportation, and 28 percent saying they will use it less often. Consequently, this raises the likelihood that even with the increase in teleworking, the use of mobility infrastructure systems is not likely to decrease, as more people rely on personal mobility options that allow for greater control over the numbers and frequency with which they come in contact with others. This means that the pace at which autonomous and electric mobility systems are developed will likely accelerate over the next few years, and investments must be made now in order to accommodate this changed world of mobility.
for free site information, visit us online at www.areadevelopment.com
8/27/20 4:41 PM
