Welcome Messages from TRANSED-DRT Conference Planning Chairs
Janett Jimenez, Can Lah, S.C. |
Welcome to the 2022 TRANSED-DRT Virtual Conference, a conference hosted by TRB and organized by its Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility (AME50) and its Committee on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation (APO55). I am Janett Jimenez, an architectural and mobility access consultant from Mexico. I am joined by Dr. Judy Shanley, from the USA national office of Easterseals, and we served as conference planning co-chairs of TRANSED 2022 on behalf of the Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility. This is an exciting, and perhaps a little uncertain time for the mobility and transportation sector, as our world rebounds from the pandemic and provides increasingly innovative mobility and transportation services. Our traditional TRANSED Conferences since 1978, typically held in-person, every three years, reflects this excitement. This year, TRANSED and the Demand Response Transportation (DRT) Conference joined planning and is co-sponsoring this conference. Steve Yaffe, a demand response consultant from the USA joined Judy and I as a Co-Chair of conference planning. This collaboration brings a range of technical and poster sessions, internationally recognized speakers, and a robust program that addressing the broad professional disciplines participating in TRB conferences. |
Steve Yaffe, Yaffe Mobility Consulting |
We hope you will take advantage of the international sessions representing a multi-modal approach to transportation. We recognize the importance of pedestrian accessibility, micromobility, and the trend to service integration through mobility management and mobility as a service. Our technical and poster sessions will be led by nationally recognized researchers and practitioners. Please use these opportunities for dialogue, resource exchange, and futures planning. Collaborative research is necessary to develop lasting mobility solutions. We hope that attendees will leave this week-long virtual event with ideas for research, practical solutions, and new relationships and partnerships. Attendees can carry this learning into the TRB Annual Conference in January 2023. |
Judy Shanley, Easterseals |
Our diverse program planning workgroup has been attentive to the accessibility and attendee engagement. We appreciate the enthusiastic workgroup and the leadership of Dr. Kit Mitchell and the support of leaders from TRB, including William (Bill) Anderson and Gary Jenkins, have been attentive to accessibility and attendee engagement. Our goal was to create an inclusive virtual experience for participants globally. Please join us on online, for TRANSED-DRT September 12th-16th, as we study and celebrate the strides we have made internationally to further mobility for individuals with disabilities and older adults. We have a long way to go – but together we can facilitate opportunity for all by creating a safe, accessible, and reliable mobility and transportation system. And as Mahatma Gandhi said, in a gentle way, you can shake the world! So, lets shake the world at TRANSED-DRT 2022! |