Colloquy on the Coming Transformation of Travel

摘要

It is a pleasure to participate in this conference and to describe a recent project undertaken by MPOs in New York State, including the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) in Albany. The project, called a colloquy, brought together an expert panel to examine current trends and future directions that will affect transportation and the MPO planning process. I would like to share with you the purpose for conducting the colloquy, some of the comments from the expert panel related to future changes, and possible implications of these changes for MPOs and the metropolitan transportation planning process. The phrase we used to explain the colloquy was "describing the inevitable, identifying the avoidable, and putting perspective on the unknowable." The purpose of the colloquy was to examine factors influencing shifts in travel over the next 30 to 50 years. These factors, which will influence the planning process, include communication technologies, the nature of work, economic conditions and demographic changes, and types of vehicles and fuels. The implications of these factors were also explored. The focus of the colloquy was on national and global trends, not just New York State.