2015 is an exciting time for transportation innovation in Los Angeles.  We have a rapidly-expanding frequent transit and bicycle network.  Technological innovation has already brought us reliable point-to-point mobility for passengers, real-time transit arrival and traffic incident information, and even “feeding the meter” from a phone.

We see more promise on the horizon as local governments in the Los Angeles area continue to innovate mobility.  The City of Los Angeles and Google currently share traffic information, and Google’s Waze recently announced a pilot program to allow app users to ride with each other.  Cities and Metro will soon launch bikeshare on the westside and in downtown, which promises to augment the transit network and and encourage more people to try our expanding bicycle network.  The City of Los Angeles’s Taxicab Commission is restructuring regulations to enable innovation in a long-stagnant industry.

We also have innovative plans that seek to make the transportation system safer and more reliable for those who aren’t in the driver’s seat while striving to lessen the impacts that traffic congestion, auto-dependence, and emissions have on public health and quality of life for all Los Angelenos.

While the focus of transportation innovation is often on technology, it’s people who are envisioning, developing and implementing this technology.  TransportationCamp brings together thinkers and doers from the intersection of transportation and technology:  transportation professionals, technologists, and enthusiasts.  As an unconference, the session topics and activities are proposed by the attendees; every attendee is a participant in shaping and leading the event.

Come to TransportationCamp Los Angeles 2015 if you’re a technologist who aspires to analyze and visualize public open data or build apps that connect people with mobility options.  Come if you’re a transportation professional with a thorough awareness of the multimodal transportation system’s shortcomings and a desire to work collaboratively and creatively to improve it.

We can be low-tech while embracing high-tech.  Technologists and transportation professionals have been tweeting at each other, but it’s also important for people to come together in the same room to explore creative new approaches to addressing Los Angeles’s transportation issues.

TransportationCamp Los Angeles 2015

When: Saturday,October 3rd
Where: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Registration: $25 at Eventbrite
More Info: UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies