When asked if the cost issues can be solved in the foreseeable future, Levy, perhaps voicing the doubts of many, said, “I don’t know.” In Washington, D.C., hyperloop, and more generally intelligent transportation, has found a strong voice. Shailen Bhatt, who in October 2017 was named president and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSAmerica), is a relentless advocate for new-generation technology. He also has the credentials to support his enthusiasm.
Before joining ITS America, he served as the executive director of the Colorado De- partment of Transportation, one of the most progressive departments in the country that has already used P3s for major infrastructure, deployed the Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle, and was instrumental in creating one of the 10 hyperloop routes — from Cheyenne to Pueblo — chosen in the global challenge. Bhatt, who says intelligent transportation can create the greatest disruption since the Industrial Revolution, keeps a hectic schedule, and is literally globetrotting in his ef- fort to share knowledge, learn from others, and build the international network that intelligent transportation will need if it is to thrive. Copenhagen, Japan, China, and Singapore — Bhatt has a seat at the table. “Anytime you say you’ve deployed something, that gives you credibility, but you have to curate that credibility to keep it,” he said. Just looking at the U.S., Bhatt sees worlds of potential — safety, speed, reduced pol- lution and traffic, to name a few — but he also sees many obstacles that must be overcome. One of those is a cultural inertia, elephantine in its proportions, that must be addressed. “We obviously have a car addiction in the U.S., and 50 years of post-war auto-centric urban design,” he said. “Everyone should recognize that our solution is not more roads.” Like Sengupta, Bhatt sees the defining challenge as that of money. And also like Sengupta, he sees the private sector as essential partners in the rise of hyperloop and intelligent transportation. “The challenge is going to be funding,” he said. “There’s no way the public sector solely funds this.” The list of private companies already on board with intelligent transportation is im- pressive, as is the list of those from public institutions. Representatives from GM, Toyota, the transportation departments from Pennsylvania and New York City, as well as powerhouse schools such as UC Berkeley, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech, sit on the ITS America board of directors. And among the agency’s advocacy trust are AAA, Qualcomm, Panasonic, State Farm, Caltrans, and the transportation departments from the states of Michigan, Florida, Ari- zona, and Texas, among others. In reference to the private sector, Bhatt said, “They are going full bore. Everybody is excited about new technology. The future is not with fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine. It’s electrification.”
Proposed hyperloop route in Colorado
Proposed hyperloop route from Chicago to Pittsburgh
Proposed hyperloop route from Edinburgh to London
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csengineermag.com
april 2018
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