ACES Mobility Coalition DC Fly-In Brings Shared Autonomous Mobility Priorities to Capitol Hill

Members of the ACES Mobility Coalition traveled to Washington, D.C., May 12-13 for a successful two-day Capitol Hill fly-in focused on advancing shared autonomous mobility in public transportation and building support for the Shared Autonomous Mobility Act, or SAM Act, H.R. 8692.

The fly-in followed the introduction of the SAM Act the week before by Representative Kevin Kiley (I-CA), legislation the Coalition helped shape through member engagement, technical expertise, and congressional outreach. The bill would modernize outdated federal rules that have slowed deployment and give transit agencies, local governments, and private sector partners a clearer path to procure, test, and integrate autonomous vehicles into public transportation networks.

During the fly-in, ACES members met with Representative Kiley (center) to thank him for his leadership and continued support. Coalition members also met with multiple congressional offices and administration officials to discuss the real-world opportunities and challenges facing shared autonomous mobility deployments across the country.

A key topic of the meetings was the need to modernize federal testing protocols to better accommodate autonomous buses and innovative vehicle designs. In a meeting with Jamie Pfister, Acting Executive Director of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and members of her team, the Coalition discussed potential improvements to current testing requirements, as well as the possibility of identifying a second testing site for autonomous buses to work alongside the Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center.

Coalition members also met with USDOT’s Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Seval Oz (center) and Lee White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (second from right), for a thoughtful discussion about how ACES and USDOT can serve as resources to one another as shared autonomous mobility continues to evolve. The conversation highlighted several areas where the technology could provide meaningful benefits, including Sun Belt communities with growing and aging populations, rural areas underserved by traditional transit, and airport environments where autonomous mobility could improve connections to, from, and within major transportation hubs.

Workforce development was another important theme throughout the fly-in. JTA and Florida State College at Jacksonville’s collaboration on autonomous transportation workforce training was highlighted as a model that could be replicated in other communities. Coalition members also emphasized that shared autonomous mobility is not about replacing transit service or jobs, but expanding mobility options, supporting new service models and creating high-quality jobs in manufacturing, software, maintenance, operations and infrastructure.

The fly-in included conversations with bipartisan offices, including staff from Senator Warnock’s (D-GA) office, Representative Mike Quigley Quigley’s (D-IL) office, Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) office and Senate Commerce Republicans, and more. Across these meetings, ACES members reinforced the importance of American leadership in transportation innovation, cyber-secure technology and policies that support safe, scalable public transportation deployments. 

In addition to the policy meetings, the Coalition hosted a reception during the fly-in for former Executive Director Scott Belcher Scott Belcher to honor his leadership and the role he played in building and growing the organization.

The fly-in marked another important step in ACES Mobility Coalition’s advocacy work. As momentum continues to build around shared autonomous mobility, the Coalition remains focused on supporting policies like the SAM Act that remove barriers, strengthen public transportation, improve safety, expand access and help communities across the country deploy innovative mobility solutions.