Session: Transforming The Transportation Status Quo with Self-Driving Vehicles
Road fatalities are unacceptably high across the United States, and have gotten remarkably worse since the start of the pandemic in both rates of fatalities per mile and overall deaths. Transportation today is not as inclusive as it can and should be. For too long, people with disabilities have faced barriers to reliable, affordable, equitable transportation options. These worrying trends are compounded by the effects of harmful emissions from combustion-engine vehicles and truck traffic –– with transportation emissions being the single largest contributor to climate change.
However, emerging technology, like self-driving vehicles, are helping to build a safer, more accessible and sustainable future of transportation. Prashanthi Raman, vice president of global government affairs at Cruise, will share how she navigated uncharted territory to earn the regulatory approvals that made Cruise the first company in history to launch a commercial, autonomous ridehail service – bringing better transportation options to our cities. Her talk will detail how emerging technology like Cruise’s self-driving vehicles are empowering communities – one ride at a time.
Bio
Prashanthi Raman is forging the pathway to deliver all-electric, shared, self-driving vehicles to cities across the world. As vice president of global government affairs at the San Francisco-based Cruise, she was instrumental in helping Cruise earn numerous historic “firsts” and is helping to build a safer, cleaner, and more accessible future for transportation. As a woman of color and mother of two, Prashanthi leads in an industry where women and people of color are underrepresented in senior leadership positions, making her the perfect candidate to speak at the WomenTech Global Conference.