LADOT announces a new digital playbook for mobility

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) announced the immediate availability of the Urban Mobility in a Digital Age Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP), and the appointment of Ellis & Associates, and its affiliated partners CityFi, CCgroup, and Lantern Consulting, as the LADOT product manager to reposition LADOT as an active partner in the arrival of autonomous vehicles and ongoing explosion of technology in transportation.

Los Angeles is in the midst of a mobility revolution that will continue its global reputation of how city transportation should evolve. Guided by the city’s Urban Mobility in a Digital Age strategy, plans are focused on unprecedented investment in new transportation choices and supporting technologies. This includes the development and deployment of actively managed electric, shared, and autonomous mobility options, including concepts such as dockless bike sharing and air taxis. All new modes of transport are aimed at tackling congestion, enabling economic development, driving racial and socioeconomic equality, and saving lives.

The Strategic Implementation Plan is a set of products and services that LADOT deems necessary to ensure that as autonomous fleets arrive in the sky and on the ground, they are first and foremost safe. Just as LADOT created one of the largest most sophisticated traffic management centers for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, the Strategic Implementation Plan aims to set the city on a course to manage the streets of the future in 2028.

“Los Angeles is a center for innovation and invention that is defining the future of transportation,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “New technologies will enable us to build a transit network that serves each of our communities and strengthens our economy — and this plan will help steer our city toward greater mobility and prosperity for all Angelenos.”

"In the fast-changing transportation industry, it is absolutely vital for public agencies to keep user experience front-and-center. The technology may change, but our commitment to moving people safely, reliably, and equitably does not,” said Los Angeles Transportation Committee Chair and Councilmember Mike Bonin. “LADOT's work builds a solid foundation for inviting technology providers to come to Los Angeles and serve our communities with new mobility options."

The product manager is tasked with overseeing all of these efforts and identifying and creating new partnerships between LADOT and public, private, academic, and nonprofit organizations. While LADOT has built significant capability and knowledge in many key areas, it requires specific expertise to collaborate with product companies to design, deploy, and actively manage its Mobility 2.0 system. LADOT selected Ellis & Associates to fulfill this role due to its proven experience in product design, system design, product engineering, and its understanding of connected and autonomous vehicles as well as the wider ecosystem.

"The publication of the SIP, the release of the Mobility Data Specification, and the appointment of Ellis & Associates and its partners sends a very clear message to global technology companies that the city is thinking about the future in a boldly different way,” said LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds. “LADOT has led the world in identifying and implementing innovative technologies, services, and approaches – the world’s first connected intersections, advanced mobility hubs, and a unique Mobility Bill of Rights. To maintain this momentum and drive social equity, we must create a new digital playbook.”

To view the SIP, click here.