With just five days to go until Road User Charging Conference Americas 2021, CiTTi meets speaker Hannah Walter, associate deputy director, California Transportation Commission.
Taking place on 10-11 March 2021 via Zoom, Road User Charging Conference Americas 2021 will bring together 27 senior-level speakers from Peru, Chile, Brazil, Jamaica, Canada and across the USA to share insight on the latest tolling technologies, road pricing projects and intelligent transport systems being implemented throughout the Americas.
Name: Hannah Walter
Job Title: Associate Deputy Director
What is the best thing about your job?
I like the way my co-workers and I work together, we have a good team dynamic. I also enjoy learning about freight logistics and how many different pieces fit together to make global freight work.
What is the biggest challenge facing those with responsibility for intelligent transportation systems and tolling/road pricing in 2021?
For road pricing, which I am more familiar with, the biggest challenge is creating a rate that is fair and simple, and figuring out how to administer a road charge programme in California in the most efficient way possible so that it does not add a lot of cost to what taxpayers must contribute. From what I know of intelligent transportation systems, I’d say the biggest challenge is privacy and security, and the need to educate the public about viable solutions to those issues.
What’s your best piece of advice for those looking to implement road-user charging or tolling solutions?
I like Washington’s approach of putting major milestones into law, I think that makes the timeline and deliverables clear. Think early on about how you want to message the programme to your end-users, Oregon did a good job messaging road charge by focusing on connecting people. Consider end-user design from the beginning, think about designing your public interfaces in a way that will work well for the public.
Don’t underestimate the time it will take to build the technology systems you will need and build in time to test them. Finally, don’t be afraid to make decisions. Lay out your key decisions and when you need to make them given your timeline. You can always adjust as you go along.
Does legislation help or hinder development in the sector?
The key is to get the right level of information in law. You want the major milestones and timeline to be clear to everyone involved, but adding in too much detail will make the process slower and less flexible.
How will the business of road-user charging have changed by 2030?
Hopefully by 2030 there will be widely accepted and agreed upon pathways that allow vehicle manufacturers to share information with some third party companies in a secure manner. This is important for telematics as a data collection method. Also, right now there are only a few third-party account management companies, so by 2030 I expect that number will have grown allowing for more competition if states have an open market for these companies.
Why are you looking forward to speaking at Road User Charging Conference Americas 2021?
I’m actually looking forward most to listening to what people have to say and the questions they ask.
At the conference you’ll also be able to hear from LA Metro, Cubic Transportation Systems, Mileage Based User Fee Alliance, the Eastern Transportation Coalition, IBTTA… and more! You can view the full agenda here. All times for Day 1 are shown in PST (GMT-8) and for Day 2 are shown in EST (GMT-5). All sessions will be available after the conference on-demand.
The two-day Road User Charging Conference Americas on 10 and 11 March 2021 is the perfect platform for senior decision-makers who have responsibility for tolling, intelligent transportation systems and road pricing to network and learn from experts in their field. To find out more go to: www.roaduserchargingconference.co.uk/ruc-americas.
For partnership enquiries, please contact Robert Gouge at robert.gouge@akabomedia.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 20 8065 0465. For speaking opportunities, please contact Claudia Davidson at claudia.davidson@akabomedia.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 20 8037 1777.
Meet some of our other speakers at Road User Charging Conference Americas 2021…
- Maureen Bock, chief innovation officer, OReGO
- Steve Morello, partner, Milestone Solutions
- Tyler Milligan, partner, Milligan Associates
- Lauren Prehoda, road user charging program manager, California Department of Transport (Caltrans)
- Freddy Naranjo, assistant bureau chief – quality control, at the Alabama Department of Transportation
- Tanya Bedward, senior director, transport policy (international and land), Jamaican Ministry of Transport and Mining
- Blaine Leonard, transportation technology engineer, Utah Department of Transportation
