Fast Forward

In cities across the United States, you can now order a self-driving robotaxi with the push of a button. Not so in Europe, where challenges to scaling and piloting keep the technology in an ever-nascent state. What needs to change for the technology to truly take off there, and what'll be different there than in car-hungry America? Those are the questions our guest today, Pierfrancesco Maran, answers.

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Join us for the seventh edition of CoMotion MIAMI '26 and interact with the most influential thought-leaders in mobility, hear about the latest market trends and government insights from innovative policy makers and transport agencies. Generate new business leads and share your company’s value in front of founders, disruptors, VC investors, city officials, and other potential clients.

Pre-Register: https://airtable.com/appKEFvNjc1L8nxmI/pagIFm2Ln8VyVkRcE/form

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

What might a city look like if it was designed for cognitive comfort, rather than efficiency or productivity? That's the question asked by Josephine Yilan Liu, a 'cognitive urbanist' and founder of Transformative Cities, a framework and consulting practice that turns scientific insight into design tools—practical enough to guide small decisions, deep enough to reframe how we think about urban life. In this episode, host Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Josephine to learn more about rethinking our cities from a holistic, cognitive perspective.

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CoMotion GLOBAL, hosted by Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA), is where East meets West in a groundbreaking global forum, bringing together public and private sector leaders from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and the Global South to chart the multimodal mobility future of world cities.

The world’s next great leap in urban mobility starts here.

Register now and grab a second ticket for half of the price: www.comotionglobal.com/comotionglobal2025

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

In the latest episode of CoMotion's Fast Forward podcast, host Nick Perloff-Giles sat down with Joshua Schank to discuss his forthcoming book 'New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies,' which examines his time as Director of LA Metro's Office of Extraordinary Innovation, including insights into how to break logjams, build consensus, and get agencies moving. 

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At this inflection point in the American mobility ecosystem, the nation's decision makers are attending CoMotion LA '25, Nov. 12-13. This year’s gathering brings together an unprecedented array of thought-leaders, mayors, innovative policymakers, technology founders, VC investors and international delegations to discuss what’s next. Well also explore the latest mobility-focused data and digital tools as part of a special special OMF Summit Track.

Register now and bring your colleagues, plus-one for half of the price: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionla2025

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CoMotion GLOBAL, hosted by Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA), is where East meets West in a groundbreaking global forum, bringing together public and private sector leaders from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and the Global South to chart the multimodal mobility future of world cities.

The world’s next great leap in urban mobility starts here.

Register now and grab a second ticket for half of the price: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionglobal2025

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

Belgium leads the EU in EV adoption, and isn't resting on its laurels - it already has 3x the number of EV chargers per capita than the average peer country, and is planning a massive buildout. How exactly did they make it happen, and what opportunities exist for those outside of the country to get involved? To learn more, Nick Perloff-Giles sat down with Piet Demunter, CEO of Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT), to discuss the Belgian sustainability miracle and its lessons for abroad.

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At this inflection point in the American mobility ecosystem, the nation's decision makers are attending CoMotion LA '25, Nov. 12-13. This year’s gathering brings together an unprecedented array of thought-leaders, mayors, innovative policymakers, technology founders, VC investors and international delegations to discuss what’s next. Well also explore the latest mobility-focused data and digital tools as part of a special special OMF Summit Track.

Register now and bring your colleagues, plus-one for half of the price: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionla2025

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CoMotion GLOBAL, hosted by Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA), is where East meets West in a groundbreaking global forum, bringing together public and private sector leaders from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and the Global South to chart the multimodal mobility future of world cities.

The world’s next great leap in urban mobility starts here.

Register now and grab a second ticket for half of the price: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionglobal2025

————————————

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Dr. Noel Hacegaba, COO of the Port of Long Beach, and Heather Tomley, Managing Director of Planning and Environmental Affairs for the Port of Long Beach, to discuss how a system as complicated as one of America's largest ports has managed to effectively stop most port-related pollution, and how it plans to go even further.

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At this inflection point in the American mobility ecosystem, the nation's decision makers are attending CoMotion LA '25, Nov. 12-13. This year’s gathering brings together an unprecedented array of thought-leaders, mayors, innovative policymakers, technology founders, VC investors and international delegations to discuss what’s next. Well also explore the latest mobility-focused data and digital tools as part of a special special OMF Summit Track.

Register now and save 30% until Oct 20: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionla2025

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CoMotion GLOBAL, hosted by Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority (SCEGA), is where East meets West in a groundbreaking global forum, bringing together public and private sector leaders from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and the Global South to chart the multimodal mobility future of world cities.

The world’s next great leap in urban mobility starts here.

Register now and save 30% until Oct 20: https://www.comotionglobal.com/comotionglobal2025

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

In this episode of Fast Forward, Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Founder & Chief Curator of CoMotion John Rossant to discuss CoMotion's newest venture - a conference in Riyadh, focused on the intersection of east and west, mobility and technology, and policy and application. Listen for a preview of what the conference is preparing to offer.

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Saudi Arabia and Riyadh are at the crossroads of a global shift to sustainable, connected and multimodal mobility. CoMotion GLOBAL in Riyadh on Dec 7–9, 2025, will set the urban agenda in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

Connect with an unprecedented array of public and private sector leaders shaping the future of mobility, including mayors, innovative policymakers, founders & CEOs, and VC investors.

Explore the future of mobility and urban transformation — where East meets West in a groundbreaking global forum.

The world’s next great leap in mobility starts here.

Join the movement: comotionglobal.com

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CoMotionNEWS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comotion_global/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCUdylw5XdxHdaXi-1KGwJnQ

Twitter: twitter.com/CoMotionNEWS

In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Steve Adler, former mayor and city councilmember of Austin, TX. They discuss the work required to bridge across interest groups, passing legislation with long time horizons, and how to build consensus for large-scale transit projects.

With the recent signing of Shohei Otani, traffic to Dodger Stadium, LA's premiere sports venue, is up more than 12% - all without fixed transit infrastructure to handle the surge. In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with David Grannis of Zero-Emissions Transit and Michael Manley of Gondola manufacturer Leitner-Poma to discuss their project that solves the stadium's congestion by going in one direction: up.

Why is it often easier to pay for a cup of coffee than it is to pay for a ride on transit? In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles sits down with Ben Lebedin from US Bank & Elavon to discuss the opportunities presented by open-loop payments, the benefits of the service to both consumers and transit agencies, and the treasure trove of data that it presents.

In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles is joined by Matthew Daus, Partner at Windels-Marx and former Commissioner of the New York City TLC. They discuss the political headwinds facing congestion pricing, the challenges and successes of modernizing taxi service in the city, and what insurance markets might yield in policy to come.