Bert Bras and Tina Guldberg

Sustainable Design & Manufacturing Program, Manufacturing Research Center, Georgia Institute of Technology

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Program Director

The notion of sustainable mobility is rapidly evolving. When we were growing up, most people in developed nations aspired to own their own cars. That's not necessarily the case any more, particularly in densely populated areas. City dwellers need a broad range of options to get from point A to point B without having to operate a vehicle themselves.

The challenge is finding ways to blend advanced technologies with transportation services. There must be a significant "cool" factor that makes people want to change their driving behaviors to reduce congestion and vehicle emissions. Georgia Tech and Ford are working together to redefine sustainable mobility and transportation in cutting-edge ways.

For example, we have been developing touch-screen kiosks, powered by solar energy, and mobile phone applications that will put transportation information at people's fingertips, allowing them to see at the touch of a button locations and departure schedules for the nearest trains, buses, shuttles or taxi services.

We initially began working with Ford on just one project, helping to maximize efficiencies on a particular plant assembly line. Our relationship has grown, and over the last six years our projects have identified potential cost savings for Ford of more than $4 million per year, in addition to environmental and social benefits.

Our partnership with Ford really lends credibility to our own program. All too often, people think of "sustainability" and they think you're a tree-hugger. When you have a name like Ford associated with your program, there's recognition that we must be providing value. Sustainability is not just about saving the planet; it's about saving companies, too. If you have a company that goes bankrupt, that's not sustainable for anyone involved.

We're very excited about our latest project with Ford, which examines mobility options and transportation alternatives in urban "mega-cities." We're looking at transportation issues from all sides of the equation – engineering, computer science, business, industrial design, marketing and branding. Congestion, air quality and population growth are the trends that are driving sustainable mobility – and they are relevant whether you're in Bangalore or in New York City. The difference is that in the developing cities you don't have the infrastructure and you typically don't have the means to buy a car.

Locally, we're working to improve transportation options in and around our own campus through such simple things as bike share programs and shuttle buses that connect to Atlanta city buses. It makes sense to focus first on large metropolitan areas, like Atlanta, where transportation systems are already in place. Ideally, one would want to develop and apply new modes of transportation in large cities, and then connect outward to smaller, surrounding communities.

When evaluating new transportation ideas, one must consider not only the potential benefits but also any potential unintended consequences. For example, the Dutch conducted an energy consumption study after promoting energy-efficient light bulbs, but did not see the energy savings they expected. The reason? People left the lights burning longer because the new bulbs were cheaper to operate, so they were back to square one.

The same theory applies to mobility issues: we want to make sure there's no rebound effect. Widespread transportation changes need to be efficient, cost effective and convenient or they're not going to catch on.