Transport Thematic Group Event
From the roman chariots to the automatic vehicles, technology innovations have allowed societies to be connected and reshape the functioning of the transport sector over time. Historically, innovations have been concentrated in vehicle technologies and transportation infrastructure. In the past few decades, the transport sector has started to benefit from technological advances in information and communication technology, helping transform how mobility services are provided and used, and unleashing the potential to provide safer, more sustainable, and more equitable mobility.
The convergence of technological innovations in digital connectivity, data platforms, automation, and alternative energy is creating exciting changes to our transport system. From mobility to accessibility, sustainability to ecosystem stewardship, regional equity to social justice, economic development to efficient markets, the transport sector is called upon to play a growing and ever more critical role in the sustainable future that we aspire to. And yet, critical questions, such as what makes a technology innovation transformational, how to harness the most benefits and mitigate potential negative impacts, and what are the roles of the public and private sectors in technology adoption need to be appropriately addressed, particularly in the context of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this context, it is essential to understand how mobility can evolve through the influence of technology to meet changing economic requirements and social expectations. Likewise, social and economic forces that may be shaping future travels are increasingly relevant to the discussion of the associated infrastructure.
In June 2024, the World Bank published the report “Transformative Technologies in Transportation,” an excellent compendium and examination of the emerging technological innovations and the opportunities and challenges they pose for the development of the transport sector in LMICs—including the policy responses and interventions governments and other stakeholders need to consider to realize positive dividends from those innovations, seeking to enable higher mobility at lower costs to the society and making effective their potential contributions to solving existing and future developmental challenges.
On Thursday, October 10, 2024, to present and discuss this very interesting topic, we are very fortunate to have the two co-authors of the report: (a) Ms. Cecilia Briceno-Garmendia, Lead Transport Economist at the World Bank Transport Global Practice Unit and Global Lead for Transport Economics, Policy, and Innovation; and (b) Ms. Wenxin Qiao, Senior Transport Specialist also at the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice Unit.
At the World Bank, Wenxin Qiao has been working on analyzing transformative technologies and their impact on global transportation networks and supporting improvements toward sustainable and intelligent transportation networks. She specializes in developing network models to optimize traffic conditions and resource use, including prioritizing public transit systems, predicting travel times, and improving network resilience. She has authored or coauthored about 30 peer-reviewed publications in international journals and conferences and has served as peer reviewer for several transportation journals. She holds a Ph.D. in transportation from the University of Maryland.
Cecilia Briceno-Garmendia as the Global Lead for Transport Economics, Policy, and Innovation, has been leading the World Bank’s Transport Decarbonization agenda. She also works with the World Bank’s operational teams in reassessing the lens through which mobility and logistics are incorporated at country and regional levels to capitalize on synergies between climate action and development. She has conducted research and development projects in over 75 countries spanning Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands, Europe, and Latin America. Previously, she worked in software engineering, specializing in artificial intelligence and the design of information and organizational systems. She has a PhD in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores en Administración in Caracas, Venezuela.
Moderator: Aurelio Menendez-Garcia, Chair, 1818 Society Transport Thematic Group
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In person (MC3-850)
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