Coffee Chat with ITS America's Shailen Bhatt
By Neela Babu, WTS-DC
On February 25, WTS-DC held a coffee chat with Shailen Bhatt, President and CEO of ITS America (ITSA). Bhatt is a leading voice in transportation on technology’s ability to save lives and reduce crashes on U.S. roadways. He speaks extensively about the importance of vehicles communicating with each other and all roadway users as one of the best ways to improve safety and reduce congestion. He is also passionate about reducing transportation’s carbon footprint and the need to provide seamless mobility and transportation choices to people no matter where they live. Prior to his role at ITSA, Bhatt served as executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and was cabinet secretary for the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT). He was also a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
WTS-DC coffee chats are designed to be conversational, informal events where all attendees are able to sit around the virtual table and engage with the speaker. To facilitate that during this coffee chat, every attendee introduced themselves to Bhatt, who, during the discussion, referred to different fun facts that attendees had shared about themselves.
After introductions, Bhatt started by explaining how his previous experiences supported two of his current priorities: safety and the environment. During his time at DelDOT and CDOT, Bhatt was informed of the fatalities that occurred on the road system which he oversaw. This reality contributed to his belief that improved technology can support safety, thereby leading to fewer roadway fatalities. Bhatt has always been passionate about the environment and he advocates for reducing the carbon footprint caused by the transportation industry.
The remainder of the event focused on a Q&A session with questions from the audience. Topics included the FCC reallocation of the 5.9GHz spectrum, the impacts of COVID on transportation and outlook for the future, the importance of cybersecurity in transportation, and the importance of active mobility options.
WTS-DC and the coffee chat attendees are grateful to Shailen Bhatt for joining us for this event, and to ITS America for this support.