Essays
The Journal of Law and Mobility publishes short, persuasive essays by industry leaders, academics, professionals, and the Journal editors and staff. Essays respond to current events, as well as legal and policy debates. Submissions of essays between 800 and 2,000 words are always welcome.
Filter
Post List
The Electric Hummer’s Dirty Secret
The transportation industry’s contribution to the climate crisis is no secret. An approximate 28% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in 2021 were courtesy of the transportation sector. Consequently, the pressure to electrify is intense and electric vehicles (EVs) are taking the United States by storm. However, electrification is far from a…By The Numbers: Policing for Safety or Traffic Policing as Pretext?
Ellen Partridge is the Senior Advisor, Mobility Innovation at Equiticity as well as the Senior Policy Advisor at the Shared-Use Mobility Center. “Half of all citizen-police interactions, more than 40% of all drug arrests, and over 30% of police…Transporting Goods in the Context of Luxury Resale
Talking about shipping clothing is long overdue. In the spirit of considering how we might make transporting goods and people more ethical and sustainable, I will be specifically considering the luxury resale market in this blog. First and foremost, it is worth noting that shipping is notoriously an ethical and…An Uncertain Framework: Privacy and Data Security Regulation Advances Long After Transportation Technology
It’s time to be honest with ourselves: a lot of us love the convenience of facial recognition software (FRS) especially when it comes to unlocking our cell phones. There is officially no reason to get Cheeto dust on your screen while you Instagram stalk your former high school classmates before…Promoting Micromobility Usage Through the Internal Revenue Code
Micromobility services like scooter and bikeshares provide numerous benefits to riders, local governments, and the public at large. A 2021 CBInsights report summarizes micromobility’s many upsides: “micromobility services increase access to public transportation, reduce the amount of cars on the road, lower our environmental footprint, and provide convenient methods…Electric Vehicles and Gas Tax
Across the United States an average of just over a third of all highway spending comes from a gas tax imposed by the state, with further funding being provided by a federal gas tax. It ranges across states from as low as 4.5 % of funding for highway spending in…Expanding and Modernizing Rail Infrastructure
The railway is a part of the American ethos. Without rivers to carry us from one end of the country to another, and with horses unable to travel coast to coast, the railway was king. By 1860 there were 30,000 miles of railway crisscrossing the country. By 1915 the number…
Potential Solutions to the First Mile/Last Mile Problem
Public transportation usage suffers from a variety of issues that decrease the number of potential riders that ultimately choose an alternative form of transportation to get to their destination. One of these challenges, known as the First Mile/Last Mile (FM/LM) problem, is the requirement of the rider…Are Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles a Practical, Ethical, and Sustainable option?
The environmental impacts of the transportation industry have been at the forefront of mobility discourse for the last decade. With 27% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation and a significant percentage of low-income households’ total earnings going to transportation (over 30% in some instances), the need to…An Automated Driving Issue Spotter
The following hypothetical situation was written by University of Michigan Law School student Joe Hillman. This blog post is to serve as an issue spotter with which our readers should please feel free to engage. Comments or subsequent blog post submissions regarding this issue spotter may address any relevant…