The transportation sector is central to solving some of the nation’s most pressing issues ― from mitigating and responding to climate change impacts to sustaining a strong and equitable economy. Victoria Sheehan, the executive director of the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board, has been thinking about transportation’s role in society for close to two decades. Prior to joining TRB about a year and a half ago, she served as the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation for seven years, and she also spent over a decade working for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, where she led strategic planning and several other programs.

We recently sat down with Sheehan to discuss TRB’s publication Critical Issues in Transportation for 2024 and Beyond, how the transportation sector is evolving to meet complex new challenges and demands, and how TRB can help inform policymakers and practitioners as they revitalize the nation’s aging infrastructure and plan for the future.

You’ve been involved in transportation for most of your working life. What first sparked your interest in the field?

Sheehan: When I reflect on certain milestones in my childhood, like the first time my parents let me walk to a friend’s house by myself. That was a freedom that I gained because I was mature enough to do that, but also because I luckily lived on a roadway that had sidewalks, so I had a place to walk, and my parents had confidence that I could get there safely. The first time I rode my bike to school, the first time I rode a bus into the city by myself — I think about each of those events and the feeling I had that doors were opening for me. When I became a teenager, I got my driver’s license. That meant access to employment. I could get to babysitting and other part-time jobs, opportunities that my friends and peers didn’t necessarily have, as they didn’t have transportation.

So, from the very beginning, I had this feeling that if you work in transportation, you’re providing people with access to opportunity, and I've always had this passion for connecting people to places.

You have been TRB’s executive director for a year and a half now. What stands out to you about your role so far?

Sheehan: I’ve had many different opportunities throughout my career, but I hadn’t really had a chance to collaborate with colleagues around the globe in the way that I get to here at TRB. It has been a pleasure to not only travel and see different cities and experience their transportation systems, but also to get to know the international partners that contribute significantly to TRB’s work. It is extremely important to us that we have international partners that can share their expertise and knowledge with us and take the U.S. experience and bring it to bear globally.

Many of the challenges that we’re facing in transportation right now are global challenges. Over the years, I think we’ve all shared the same challenges and issues, but maybe prioritized those issues differently. Whereas at this moment, it feels like we all share the top two or three priorities, like helping address climate change and increasing mobility for all.

I also have a much greater appreciation for the work of TRB staff. TRB is extremely grateful that we have over 7,000 volunteers who contribute to our mission and help advance our work, but being on the staff side, I now appreciate fully what it takes to put on the different events that we host, and all the steps that we go through to ensure that we’re producing quality research reports and publications. We are a small but mighty team that does remarkable things.

Those priorities are a major focus of TRB’s recent publication on critical issues in transportation, which calls for a reassessment in how the transportation sector addresses major societal challenges. Why should this be a priority now?

Sheehan: Critical Issues is focused on this outcome that we’re striving for ― a thriving society ― and talks about five different goal areas where transportation can positively impact quality of life, including addressing climate change, promoting equity and inclusion, increasing road safety, advancing public health, and building a strong economy.

What I think is most intriguing about our publication, though, is the discussion concerning policy factors and levers of change. For example, decisions that are made around land use, or governance and regulation, impact how challenging it is to build the most efficient and effective transportation system. So, it’s not just the transportation sector that has to come together to work on these issues and enact change. The report emphasizes that we need to find new ways to engage with both traditional as well as new stakeholders to find the most effective solutions.

Why did TRB’s executive committee decide to release this new edition of Critical Issues at this particular moment in time?

Sheehan: I think the time was right to have a conversation about transportation’s role in a thriving society, but there was also a feeling that as an industry we need to move faster, both because of the challenges we face today and also because of the unprecedented level of federal funding that is currently available. We can’t just explore the challenges and prioritize the research — we need to motivate people to engage in the research and help find solutions today. We also hope that transportation researchers take the best practices we identify and expand how those are socialized, making sure that policymakers and others are leveraging our guidance as they’re making decisions and making investments.

There is also a lot of synergy between Critical Issues and some of the other guidance documents produced by other entities in the last 18-24 months. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a strategic plan that includes societal goals and outcomes they’re looking to achieve through transportation investment. It’s interesting to me that there are different independent efforts nationally and internationally that have advanced in parallel, and we’re all coming to the same conclusions that we need to frame the conversation differently ― and they also highlight this need to work across modes and sectors with many more partners than we’ve had in the past.

How has the transportation industry’s understanding of its role shifted during your career?

Sheehan: For many years, the owners and operators of transportation systems were builders, creating the infrastructure that we all rely on today. Now, it has become more about advocating for the resources to reconstruct and improve the condition and resilience of aging infrastructure, as well as to get the most efficiency out of that infrastructure as possible. And certainly, with emerging technologies having a greater impact, there are many more opportunities to improve the quality of service for all users of the systems and networks while utilizing the existing infrastructure.

If you talk to those who own and operate aspects of the transportation system, you’ll find that they are acutely focused on the customer and user experience. I think that will really yield results when advocating for further investment in transportation, because the work that this sector does truly matters ― offering access to opportunities, and playing a large role in the economy, so it is important that we tell that story.

How is TRB changing in response to all these shifts in the transportation landscape?

Sheehan: Recent increases in federal funding for infrastructure and transportation is enabling major investments across the country, but the pressure is on to produce and show results from those investments. By placing emphasis on the five goal areas identified in Critical Issues and using appropriate metrics to help evaluate projects in each of those areas, decision-makers will have the information that they need to make the best possible choices when it comes to project selection and maximizing the benefits of the available funding.

TRB also understands that efforts to promote our work to new and wider audiences is necessary ― we want to support those advancing projects so that they can bring to bear all of the best practices that TRB has developed over the years. We are continuing to review and modernize our products, finding new ways to communicate, and striving to run more engaging convening activities. When it comes to the practical aspects of managing our work, we’re exploring better tools, including artificial intelligence, to work more efficiently and provide curated content to practitioners.

What would you say to transportation students, early career researchers, practitioners, and others thinking about getting involved with the transportation field, and with TRB?

Sheehan: My message to young professionals is to not be intimidated. There is tremendous respect for the experts that contribute to TRB’s work, but we cannot solve today’s challenges with yesterday’s thinking. While we have some extremely experienced individuals breaking new ground and pushing the industry forward, sometimes it’s those younger people, who aren’t so ingrained in a topic area, who come in with new ways of looking at and talking about problems, which then leads to innovative solutions. TRB’s motto is “Everybody interested is invited” ― and we truly mean that. We want diversity of perspectives and background. We want you to step up and lend your voice to the conversation, not just come to listen.

Related Resources

• Critical Issues in Transportation for 2024 and Beyond (full report)

• Critical Issues in Transportation for 2024 and Beyond (digital interactive)