Governor’s Council: Private, Public Cooperation in Advanced Mobility Could Mean Billions in Revenue, Thousands of Jobs
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. , December 09 /Businesswire/ - Yesterday, the Arkansas Council on Future Mobility outlined a plan to bolster the burgeoning future mobility sector in Arkansas and the heartland. The Council’s findings resulted from 10 months of intensive work by government officials, corporate leaders and private investors, working in lock step to achieve Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s goal of being the industry’s global leader by 2030.
The report is a first in the nation statewide comprehensive future mobility plan to address the rapidly changing future of moving people and goods on the ground, air, sea, sea and space - cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower cost.
Gov. Hutchinson earlier this year formed the Arkansas Council on Future Mobility, which is comprised of 26 advisory and 18 appointed members who are private investors, government and public utility administrators, academic experts, and corporate leaders including but not limited to Walmart, JB Hunt, UP.Partners, Canoo, the University of Arkansas, DroneUp, Entegrity, Garver, Gatik, Runway Group, Skyports, Tulsa Innovation Labs, Tyson Foods, Union Pacific, Southern Arkansas University Tech and Zipline.
The council was charged with five primary objectives:
“The report the council produced is invaluable and can serve as a blueprint for how we can achieve our goal of being the global leader in future advanced mobility,” Gov. Hutchinson said. “It also reinforces the fact that we need to take a thoughtful, strategic approach to growing this industry. This growth will not come by accident and there are no do-overs. My fellow Arkansans and I are extremely grateful for the council’s intensive work that will pay dividends for generations to come.”
Gov. Hutchinson appointed Cyrus Sigari, an accomplished aviator, entrepreneur, investor, and current managing partner of mobility investment firm UP.Partners, as the council’s chairman.
“Arkansas has a rich history in which entrepreneurial spirit, tremendous work ethic, and cutting edge innovation have all blended to produce some of the most successful corporations and organizations in the world,” Sigari said. “These same values, along with the support of investors, corporate leaders, the general public, and state policy-makers, have made the state wellpositioned to take advantage of this incredible moment in time.”
Key Findings
Future mobility – which can include drones, autonomous and electric vehicles, electric scooters and bicycles, flying cars, spaceships, and other related technologies – is one of the most rapidly-evolving technological areas of advancement and investment.
It is crucial for state officials to work in tandem with the private sector and educational system to establish and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem needed for Arkansas to flourish in future mobility.
Arkansas becoming a global leader in future mobility will have a positive impact on the region. Interstate cooperation – especially with border states – will continue to be extremely important.
Arkansas has tremendous opportunities for development, manufacturing and facilitation of specific future-mobility sectors such as space exploration, drone readiness, and autonomous vehicles (AVs)
Why it Matters
Lawmakers and local municipal officials all have a role to play in ensuring the success of advanced mobility. Efforts for Arkansas to become a hub for the advanced mobility sector and next gen transportation industry have already been launched, but to be a true global leader in this burgeoning industry will require more cooperative action. The benefits will include more high-paying jobs for Arkansans, a cleaner environment and less traffic congestion, and a higher gross domestic product to help raise the standard of living for everyone in the state.
Arkansas Council on Future Mobility
The Arkansas Council on Future Mobility is an advisory board formed by Asa Hutchinson, the 46th governor of Arkansas, in February 2022, in an effort to position Arkansas as a hub for future mobility nationwide with a commitment to attract businesses, startups, innovators and creators in advanced technology. The council is comprised of 26 advisory and 18 appointed members who are private investors, government and public utility administrators, academic experts, and corporate leaders including UP.Partners, Tyson Foods, Walmart, J.B. Hunt, University of Arkansas, Canoo, Arkansas Aerospace and Defense Alliance, Entergy Arkansas, MISO, Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Arkansas Department of Public Safety, Arkansas Department of Commerce, Arkansas Public Service Commission, Southern Arkansas University Tech, Arkansas Trucking Association, Arkansas Auto Dealers Association, Union Pacific, Runway Group, Endeavor Arkansas, Skyports, Arkansas Advanced Energy Alliance, Arkansas Electric Cooperative, Arkansas Transit Association, Garver, University of Arkansas College of Engineering, DroneUp, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Entegrity, ArcBest, Tulsa Innovation Labs, Arkansas State Police, Zipline, Wing, DEKA, Office of Governor Hutchinson, Gatik, Hart & Ashley and Arkansas Department of Education. To read the council’s latest report and for more information on the work being done on advanced mobility visit www.arfuturemobility.org
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