A new initiative from the University of Pennsylvania will create a research and innovation hub for transportation.
The Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn (R-Trip) will bring together leading minds from academia, government and industry to tackle the complexities of the modern transportation system, while delivering innovative ideas from the lab to the streets. Housed in the Institute for Urban Research R-TRIP will be led by Penn IUR Faculty Fellows Leslie Richards, former CEO of PennDOT and SEPTA, and Lead Faculty Advisor Megan Ryerson, UPS Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning.
“The Richards Transportation Initiative is built on the idea that great research should move quickly into action,” Richards said. “We’re creating a platform where public agencies, private partners and academic leaders can work together to develop and implement smart, scalable solutions that accelerate innovation across the transportation sector.”
The hub will address current challenges facing transportation like safety and crash prevention, expanded access to jobs, education and essential services, data-driven innovation and technology deployment and preparing infrastructure for future demands and disruptions.
R-TRIP’s Public Sector Advisory Committee includes CEOs from major transportation agencies across the country, including LA Metro, WMATA (Washington, D.C.), California State Transportation Agency, Georgia DOT, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Utah DOT, Denver International Airport, Pittsburgh Regional Transit and Philadelphia’s Department of Aviation, among others.
“The Richards Transportation Initiative is exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration our nation’s transportation systems need,” Garrett Eucalitto, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said. “Initiatives like this strengthen the ability of agencies to work across functions to improve mobility, accelerate electrification, and think beyond standard practices to better serve their communities.”