The California Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI) serves as a living laboratory – bringing together university experts, policymakers, public agencies, industry stakeholders, and community leaders – to inform the state transportation system’s immediate COVID-19 response and recovery needs, while establishing a long-term vision and pathway for directing innovative mobility to develop sustainable and resilient transportation in California. RIMI is led by the UC ITS in partnership with the State of California, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, and industry.
Mission:
RIMI’s mission is to direct transportation and mobility innovations toward the public interest through a holistic, integrated, and societal-building approach that addresses technological, environmental, resilient, and socio-economic impacts.
Program Structure:
RIMI is organized around three core research pillars:
Carbon Neutral Transportation
This pillar houses projects that focus on decarbonizing California’s transportation sector. Find projects Carbon Neutral Transportation
Emerging Transportation Technology and Innovation
This pillar focuses on three themes : connected and automated vehicles, urban air mobility and advanced air mobility, and freight and supply chain technology. Find projects at Emerging Transportation Technology and Innovation
Public Transit and Shared Mobility
This pillar will provide information for a future vision of public transit and shared mobility in California that increases access to opportunity, supports resilience, and reimagines how these modes work together. Projects in this pillar focus on challenges, opportunities, and transformations related to public transit and private shared mobility in California. Projects under this pillar include:
- Exploring the Benefits and Costs of Electric Vehicle Car Sharing in Rural Underserved Communities (Current)
Rodier, Caroline. University of California, Davis
https://www.ucits.org/research-project/rimi-4b-03/
- Designing Microtransit Services to Complement Public Transit (Current)
Pike, Susan and Edison, Watkins. University of California, Davis and other UCs
https://www.ucits.org/research-project/2024-13-4r/
- Pandemic-Related Shifts in Work, Travel, and Transit Use: Implications for Public Policy (Completed)
Taylor, Brian. University of California, Davis and other UCs
https://www.ucits.org/research-project/rimi-4l/
- Many more projects can be found at: https://www.ucits.org/public-transit-and-shared-mobility/
Equity and High-Road Jobs serve as cross-cutting themes that are integrated across the three pillars. Each pillar is guided by a multi-year research roadmap, outlining a collaborative research agenda across the four UC ITS campuses. This research agenda will evolve over time to address emerging issues and support a long-term collective vision for developing a sustainable and resilient transportation system in California.