Fast Forward

Episode 27. This conversation between Greg Lindsay and futurist Scott Smith was recorded on location in Masdar City, UAE. Scott and Greg chat about the famous closed-loop zero-carbon city, which Scott refers to as "a fragment of the Gulf future's 1.0 dream", and about building the next vision of the future. Scott, Founder and Managing Director of Amsterdam-based consulting group Changeist, talks about how mobility cultures differ from city to city, and highlights the need to think about sustainable transportation as part of a much more complex system.

Episdode 26. Greg Lindsay chats with David Zipper, fellow in the Urban and Regional Policy Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, about integrating public and private modes of transportation into Mobility-as-a-Service platforms, without letting companies create mobility "walled gardens", or having privacy advocates turn against city-run multi-modal networks.

Episode 25. Greg Lindsay chats with Devin de Vries, co-founder & CEO of WhereIsMyTransport, about improving visibility and accessibility for informally run transportation networks, which cities have traditionally had very little insight into. WhereIsMyTransport is a startup which provides an integrative mobility platform for governments to centralize information from both formal and informal transportation networks. Rather than disrupting informal transport services, WhereIsMyTransport wants to incrementally improve their businesses, making them easier for everyone to use.

Episode 24. Greg Lindsay chats with Martin McMullan, Director of the Connected Journey program at the New Zealand Transportation Agency, about the the nuts-and-bolts of Mobility-as-a-Service and public sector innovation. Martin explains how he and his team implemented their own MaaS app in Auckland, NZ, by building a business case off of user feedback, and providing the underpinning digital infrastructure for an integrated service open to both public and private operators, which allows for an unbiased, fair and egalitarian transit system.

Episode 23. John Rossant sits down with Nixon Peabody real estate attorneys Justin Thompson and Garth Bostic to discuss ways in which the fast-changing urban mobility landscape will affect real-estate development in the three decades to come. John, Justin and Garth chat about parking requirements and the need for flexible, “future-proof” design, how regulatory environments and geographic considerations will affect the advent of autonomous vehicles, the impact congestion pricing and urban air mobility will have on land use, and the importance of acting as an intermediary between private actors and city officials to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Episode 22. Greg Lindsay chats with Paul Comfort, Vice President of Buisness Development and Chief Transit Evangelist at Trapeze Group, which provides the enterprise software that runs public transportation systems all over the world, among other products. The former transit head also hosts a mobility podcast of his own, “Transit Unplugged” where he interviews transportation leaders. Greg and Paul talk about redesigning routes for high frequency service, providing ease of use and ease of access, and gamification and loyalty reward programs, as key ways of increasing public transport ridership. Paul shares his experience as a public transit leader, and talks about his new book, 'Full Throttle', which he describes as a self-help book for transportation professionals.

Episode 21. Greg Lindsay chats with Swoop's CEO, Amir Ghorbani, and Ruben Schultz, Co-Founder, about mobility as an experience. Swoop is a shared mobility startup focused on large sized vehicles for groups. Greg, Amir and Ruben discuss the evolution of the shared vehicle market.

Episode 20. CoMotion Founder and Chief Curator John Rossant sits down with Paul Glenney, CEO of Hubject Inc. Hubject is an interoperability platform focused on simplifying EV charging. Hubject works with Charge Port Operators (CPOs) and e-mobility service providers in 26 countries, and has more than 300 business-to-business partners. Hubject operates as a hub, enabling partners to communicate with each other and do business together. John and Paul chat about public charging and ways to accelerate EV adoption in the US and across the world.

Episode 19. Greg Lindsay chats with Eduardo Javier Muñoz, CEO of EVShare, about ways to reinvent our mobility ecosystem. EVShare operates a combination of home solar renewables, feeding into electric vehicles and using blockchain as a way of awarding credits and paying out people’s use of mobility. The foundation creates fleets that enable people to move around using less vehicles, in a cheaper and more energy-efficient way. Eduardo views blockchain technology as a “digitalized democratization” of mobility, which allows for a transparent government structure, where people can decide how their money is invested.

Episode 18. John Rossant chats with Alexandra Dublanche, Vice President of the Paris Region, to discuss how the region is strengthening its public transportation network beyond the dense core of the city. The Paris Region is experimenting with innovative and sustainable new modes of transportation, such as flying water cars on the Seine or shared autonomous vehicles. John and Alexandra compare different cultural mindsets regarding public transportation, and how those can evolve.