TRB Webinar: Transportation Experiences and Next Steps in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The world is grappling with the containment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until a vaccine is developed. TRB hosted a webinar on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 to discuss how planning, preparedness, and response can mitigate exposure and viral spread of communicable diseases among transportation customers and employees. Presenters discussed their experiences on the ground. Even locations without reported cases can benefit from adapting workgroups, communication plans, and a long-term strategy to move forward.


This webinar was organized by the TRB Standing Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure. The slides are available in PDF.

Webinar agenda and presenters

1. Airport preparedness for communicable disease outbreaks from a TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) project: John Wilhelmi, Eastern Research Group
2. Atlanta airport deployment of practices during communicable disease outbreaks: Augustus Hudson, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
3. Seattle emergency management response for transportation: Sam Zimbabwe (with Patti Quirk), Seattle Department of Transportation
4. Questions and answers: Moderated by John Wilhelmi, Eastern Research Group

The first 60 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Understand emerging states of practice among peer transportation agencies
2. Describe the benefits of adopting minor behavioral changes, structured governance, a communication plan, and a long term strategy
3. Identify ways to integrate basic elements of change management and public health strategies into transportation operations
4. Locate resources and authoritative expertise on key topics