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”.
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