How do we make mobility better?

Defining Mobility

This is a deceptively tough topic. When I started my podcast, I called it Future of Mobility because I thought that mobility was the best term to capture what I cared about.

If you asked me back then, I would have highlighted something about the movement of goods and people. I knew I didn’t want to limit myself to a certain segment or technology, but the idea was a bit cloudy.

I had hoped that the phrase would catch on and clear things up over time, but it hasn’t. If anything, the idea of mobility is more confusing now than ever.

So, I’ve been on a quest to define that term for myself. I’ve talked with several guests about this over the past few months, and I’ve slowly unpacked the idea.

I now believe that mobility actually refers to accessibility. It’s the ability to access the people and places that help us live a meaningful and fulfilling life. There’s more to it, but that idea has stuck in my head. It comes from a series of conversations with Larry Burns, including this one.

We typically rely on our ability to move through space as a means to achieve another objective. We move to gain access to a specific place and/or thing, at a specific time. Mobility isn’t about cars and buses. It’s about the outcome that we seek. It’s about access.

There’s more to it than that, but the idea makes sense to me. Yet, it’s abstract.

So I often use a proxy instead. I’m confident that this isn’t perfect but, if you ask me, I’d likely say that I focus on the following question:

How can we improve the movement of goods and people, making transportation more effective and accessible, while also becoming safer and more sustainable.

We’re talking about movement of goods and people, in a way that produces meaningful, positive outcomes, without negatively impacting others – either today or in the future.

We aren’t talking about making cars faster, or more automated, or more connected. Again, it’s about outcomes.

So lets work to improve those outcomes.