Innovation Driving Transportation: Roads, Rails, & Rides

 

 

This week on Roads, Rails, & Rides host Jeb Morris connects with Iain Bitrain, Executive Director of ISPIM, to discuss global innovation in the transportation industry, what cities are doing the best job, and what the future looks like amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

ISPIM is a leader in bringing some of the most intelligent and innovative minds for their annual global conferences. Iain shares his firsthand travel experiences, as well as highlighting contributions from some of the brightest transportation minds like Frank Stephenson, of Frank Stephenson Design. Frank is the subject of a new documentary called “Chasing Perfect”, and he has been a major contributor to the Lilium Jet flying car concept.

Our conversation continues the discussion of transportation innovation by addressing AI/driverless trains from SBS Transit, as well as the driverless bus pilot program implemented in Fukuoka, Japan. Iain acknowledges that while the greatest transportation technology currently exists in China, other Asian countries South Korea, Thailand, plus city-states like Hong Kong and Singapore are making great advances as well. In western societies Iain points to Stavanger, Norway and their annual Nordic Edge Expo & Conference as inspiration for who to follow in the effort to introduce smart city technology to transportation and our daily lives.

The conversation with Iain continues as we turn our focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the advanced approaches for detection being implemented in Asian countries as a comparison to the shortcomings experienced by western travelers. We finish our conversation with healthy dialogue on what a proactive approach to reopening the economy might look like and the optimism we both share for seeing a return to the “new normal”.

Listen to all past episodes of Roads, Rails, & Rides.

To keep up with news, insights and more in the transportation industry, stay tuned to MarketScale’s Transportation publication here.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

healthcare
The Healthcare Talent Fix: Build Pipelines Early, Use Data, and Get the Experience Right
May 18, 2026

There’s a growing tension inside healthcare right now—between the people leaving the workforce and the patients still arriving every day. It’s a dynamic that leaders can no longer afford to ignore. The numbers make that clear: the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could be short of as many as 86,000 physicians…

Read More
education
Just Thinking… About Federal Funds, Student Support, and the Future of Education with Eric Reaves
May 15, 2026

As conversations around the future of the U.S. Department of Education continue to intensify, educators and federal program leaders are facing mounting uncertainty about how federal funds will be managed, distributed, and regulated. At the same time, schools serving historically underserved students remain heavily reliant on programs like Title I and other federally…

Read More
trust
The Strongest Leaders Build Belief, Model Discipline and Earn Trust
May 14, 2026

Workplace leadership is under pressure: employees are continuing to disengage, and many managers are still trying to fix a trust problem with performance tactics. Gallup reported that U.S. employee engagement fell to 31% in 2024, its lowest level in a decade, and its research has found that managers account for at least 70% of…

Read More
medicine
The Art of Recovery: Where Music and Medicine Meet in Patient Care
May 14, 2026

Healthcare today can feel overwhelming—not just for patients, but for the teams caring for them. After a major illness or injury, recovery isn’t handled by one doctor alone; it often involves a whole network of specialists, from physical therapists to nurses to social workers, all trying to help someone regain their independence and quality…

Read More