When I was a child, the streets of the town where I born and brought up were empty most of the time in a day – couple of buses and few cars. The same streets today are occupied with full of vehicles – thousands of vehicles in a day. The industry is dreaming about implementing Shared, Electrical, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (SEACV). Now the question is, how our streets will look like in 40 years from now (2060)?

My answers could be:
1. Most rural areas will likely still have drivers “driving” vehicles
2. Most of cities will have fully autonomous vehicles operated
3. If a driver is distracted, autonomous controls become active and connect to surrounding vehicles to avoid collisions (Vision Zero achieved)
4. The toll will be reduced on the highway system with advanced transportation technology
5. With the implementation of SEACV, key corridors (like Sheikh Zayed Rd in Dubai) capacity will be reduced to 2-3 lanes (from 6-8 lanes) and rest of the right of way will repurposed

MOD is a future with transportation as a commodity, and MaaS is aggregation of mobility using subscription services (both use smartphones and expanded mobility choices—including various emerging modes, e-scooters, e-bikes, Uber/Lyft/Careem, etc.).

Now, with the unusual circumstances we find ourselves in (such as COVID), what is the future of these emerging concepts? Like many out there, I’m at the risk of being
wrong on this topic, however, here is my take on the future based on what we currently know:
1. Any technology that shortens the travel time and reduces the user cost has the potential to quickly fill the vacuum left by COVID-19.
2. In mid-2020 in the US, reduced demand has severely impacted MOD services (60%), rail transit (90%) and buses (40%).
3. The days of 4-5% work from home (WFH) are over. I would anticipate a new normal in the range of 10-15%
4. E-bikes may become a cost-effective way to connect people to their work and services
5. Data will go from being king, to emperor – MOD services generate an immense amount of data. But artificial intelligence will play a key role in MOD’s future.

No doubt, our world has drastically changed since COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Hotels are projecting occupancies below 40 percent.
Nearly 30 percent restaurants closed and others are being operated with 40-50 percent occupancy. Increased work from home (WFH) has reduced the need for office space. Major events are severely impacted. Active transportation depends upon people’s need to travel. I think e-bike will have a potential to pick up a greater share.

E-bikes are hugely popular in China, several nations in Europe and becoming population in the United States as well. It has the unique ability to combine pedal power with motor power.

Electric bikes are:
1. affordable and compact
2. convenient to bike travel (less sweat)
3. anticipated to have significant growth
4. managed speed in suburban areas and slow lanes in urban areas
5. used to go on recreational rides or to get back into shape

Apart from these, not to mention its environmental benefits. One of the key reasons for the rapid growth in e-bike is improved technology and viable
for everyday travel.

These e-bikes must be available close to your home or your work space, grab it and enjoy the ride!

Bicycle is one mode that most of us wish to have because it is healthy, easy to afford and environmental friendly. Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that allows mobility and sightseeing that is not made possible by other modes of transit. It is popular all over the world, with origins in Europe and a long history in the United States.

Rural and agricultural communities can particularly benefit from bicycle tourism, as these communities do not normally experience the benefits of tourism as significantly as their urban, coastal or mountainous neighbors.

Bike Tourism can be classified as:
1. Self-supported: Long distance trips by carrying necessaries
2. Destination-based: Attraction to a particular area
3. Event/festival-based: Visitors from different towns (includes international visitors)
4. Family/Casual: Short form tourism and affordable in terms of time and money

How to make bicycle tourism successful?
1. Allow and offer incentives to new businesses in the rural areas
2. Attract and provide direction for tourists
3. Expand regional bike network
4. Create a tourism wayfinding map as a mobile app
5. Host regional or city-wide bicycle events

When Romans built roads in 312 B.C., there was no control, no speed hump and no speed post. Later when the vehicles piled up on the road network, we had to create these rules to control nasty drivers.

Similarly, the inception of parking started in the 1920s in the US as cars were the new status symbol of wealth. There were rows of cars lining the curbs of streets, with no rules governing parking. Privately owned parking lots became popular to meet the demand. Over time, parking management has become complex and rules were needed to add order.

There is no such thing called free parking. It all comes at some cost. When you go to the grocery store, the cost of parking is included in your purchase. Whenever I buy a property in Dubai, I have to pay an extra amount of USD 8,000 per parking space. It is buried in the total purchase price. It doesn’t matter you need it or you’re a public transport user. These are called parking minimums.

Here are some easy ways to regain a piece of paradise:
1. Eliminate mandatory minimum parking requirements
2. Use data, technology, and pricing to manage parking
3. Help developers and authorities better understand parking demand
4. Promote alternate modes to curb parking demand

The good news here is the excess parking can be repurposed at any time, and the land can be utilized to more meaningful use.

Transportation plays an important role in health, well being and quality of life. Transportation professionals have two of the 10 most pressing health issues: 1) Motor Vehicle Injuries and 2) Obesity or Physical Activity. First one is being addressed through Vision Zero initiative and second one is being addressed through Transportation and Health initiative. The solution should be “data driven and evidence based”.

Approximately 15% of adult population in the world are obese. Transportation impacts individual health decisions. For example, a person may choose not to walk or bike to the store or to work because of a lack of sidewalks. Therefore, it is important to create environments in these locations that make it easier to engage in physical activity and eat a healthy diet.

Our biggest challenge, I believe, is that we don’t currently have a good tool to evaluate health measures in the transportation decision making process. Have you ever calculated an “obesity reduction” for
your traffic impact study? We need a tool for health performance. Any thoughts?

Whenever I view the satellite images of cities, specifically when I come across car storages and car impound centers, I’m always puzzled whether cars count more than people. This is because we designed our roads for vehicles not for people.

In the modern cities like Dubai, our streets and roadways when added together make up the largest portion of public open space. These corridors are the threads that stitch the fabric of our communities together. These beautiful roadways should encourage social interactions, healthy lifestyles and quality of life. This is called placemaking and transportation professionals are best placemakers.

From a placemaker’s perspective, streets are public spaces with endless possibilities:
1. Transit stops become plazas for activity.
2. Parking lots become farmers markets.
3. Street frontages become public art and people-focused amenities.

Should every street or roadway be devoted to pedestrians and parks? Surely not. A shift in the balance from cars to people, from
road building to placemaking, would be a healthy change for all of us.

Winter season is a busy time for transportation professionals in Middle East. All schools are open, less vacations, visitors will pour in and many wants to dine outside. Putting together, there are lot of transportation issues out on the road networks in cities and our design will be based on the winter demand. And this is the time transportation professionals need to ensure that the solutions are being provided for all users. “Transportation for All” is a powerful concept and you & me are part of it. While a rather simple concept, this is incredibly complicated to deliver. I have been involved in several projects in Middle East and these projects given me a deep appreciation for the challenges of the people living in the communities. Many of the things are not located in the neighborhood they live-in such as healthy foods, medical facilities and even jobs. Many people cannot afford car. I believe funding should be the major hurdle. Once we find money, others are just a matter of priority. Innovative thinking and smart communities can help us. Look at this example of St. Louis Metro Market (www.stlmetromarket.com) program. This program uses refurbished Metro buses to create mobile former’s markets with affordable fresh produce and bring them into underserved St. Louis neighborhoods.

Jay Walking

Nearly a decade ago, one of my colleagues returned to office after lunch break with the sad face. I asked him what happened and he narrated the story with which the whole team laughed hard till their stomach got hurt.

He went out on to the roads to grab his lunch and there he crossed a road as he found an opening in the fence in the median. The moment he crossed the road, a police man caught him, issued a ticket by taking Emirates ID and asked to collect it from the police station which is 30 miles away.

My colleague somehow recovered quickly and by looking at the ticket he thought he can cross any road anytime until end of the day. So after having lunch, he was returning to the office and crossed an undesignated pathway at another location. There he goes, another police picked him and issued another ticket by taking his driving license! This time he had to go to a different police station which is opposite to the first one.

Enforcement is a great way of minimizing the pedestrian accidents. Now the question is, are we as transportation professionals, planning and designing the roadways considering the pedestrians and their walking time into account? I do not think so. This is what I always remember when I look at the two distanced signals without pedestrian crossing in between where there are attractions land uses on either sides.

Walking, bicycling, and public transit are the most affordable modes. Automobiles are far more expensive.
Source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute