What do you do if autonomous vehicles disrupt the transportation planning industry?

2 Adapt your skills and tools

AVs may require you to update your skills and tools to cope with the changing transportation landscape. For example, you may need to learn new software, methods, and models to simulate and evaluate the performance of AVs and their interactions with other modes and users. You may also need to develop new metrics, indicators, and criteria to assess the impacts and outcomes of AVs on your planning goals and objectives. Moreover, you may need to enhance your communication, collaboration, and creativity skills to engage with diverse stakeholders and address complex and uncertain problems.

4 Prepare for the scenarios of AVs

AVs are not a monolithic phenomenon, but rather a spectrum of possibilities that depend on various factors and uncertainties. As a transportation planner, you need to prepare for the different scenarios of AVs and their impacts on the transportation system and society. You can use scenario planning techniques to identify and analyze the key drivers, uncertainties, and assumptions of AVs and their future development. You can also use scenario planning to develop and test alternative visions, strategies, and actions for your planning projects and processes.

5 Collaborate with other disciplines and sectors

AVs are not only a transportation issue, but also a cross-cutting one that affects and is affected by other disciplines and sectors, such as engineering, technology, policy, law, economics, sociology, psychology, and ethics. As a transportation planner, you need to collaborate with other disciplines and sectors to understand and address the multidimensional and interrelated aspects of AVs. You can also benefit from the insights, perspectives, and experiences of other disciplines and sectors to enrich and improve your transportation planning practice and outcomes.

6 Keep learning and growing

AVs are an evolving and dynamic phenomenon that requires you to keep learning and growing as a transportation planner. You need to be flexible, adaptable, and resilient in the face of change and uncertainty. You also need to be curious, open-minded, and critical in the pursuit of knowledge and innovation. Moreover, you need to be proactive, responsive, and responsible in your role and contribution to the transportation planning industry and society.