Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

Zoom Seminar

Speaker(s)

James Corless, Chief Executive Officer, Sacramento Area Council of Governments

Abstract

The future of transportation and mobility is filled with both promise and peril. Technological disruptions have already upended the taxi industry and promise to do the same with more traditional models of public transportation in the decade ahead. The current COVID-19 crisis has shown a reluctant workforce the benefits of telecommuting and remote work, emptying highways and showing the potential for demand management like never before. The Sacramento region, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, has been trying to get ahead of the transportation disruption curve by embracing change and testing creative mobility solutions. In this seminar, hear from SACOG’s executive director James Corless as he describes the mobility challenges and opportunities facing the greater Sacramento area and how his agency is trying to establish the region as a leader and a testbed for new innovations.

Biographical Sketch

James Corless is the executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). In his less than two years leading the organization, he has seen the launch of the Connect Card, JUMP bikes, and lead the initiation of the Civic Lab, the region’s first government solutions accelerator. In Civic Lab’s inaugural year the SACOG invested $1 million to pilot various transportation solutions which then leveraged an additional $1 million in external investment. Civic Lab projects include the recently launch Olli Autonomous Shuttle at Sac State. Other milestones include the launch of the regional prosperity partnership together with Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Sacramento Metro Chamber, and Valley Vision. This group is working collectively to position the region higher in the global marketplace by creating implementable strategies that reduce income inequality, preserve natural resources, and increase quality of life for all.