John Rossant, Founder & CEO, CoMotion

Invest: sat down with John Rossant, CEO of global multimodal platform CoMotion, to discuss the forces reshaping urban mobility, from electrification and automation to new models for financing infrastructure. “Public-private collaboration is no longer optional. It’s the only way to scale in the future,” Rossant said.

Where is the momentum in global urban mobility, and how is it shaping the way cities and companies invest today?

It is an extremely exciting moment around the world because there is an ongoing revolution in the way people and goods move around urban regions. A lot of it has to do with electrification, as well as connectivity and vehicles increasingly defined by software. Some countries are much further ahead than others, and even within the United States, some states are ahead while others are behind.

City leaders are also becoming more realistic about decarbonization goals. There is a growing recognition that reducing carbon and maintaining economic growth can go together, and that is an important lesson for cities as they think about future investment.

What role does CoMotion play in this landscape, and what priorities are you seeing among cities, companies, and policymakers?

You can think of CoMotion as the connective tissue of the global urban mobility ecosystem. We bring together cities, mayors, transportation leaders, investors, startups, and corporates that are building the future of how people and goods move.

We are not a trade show. We are about curating ideas and listening to them. Our conviction is that mobility takes place almost always in the public right-of-way and will always be a heavily regulated business. That is why the mix of our delegates and speakers is really 50-50 between the public sector and private sector. We see our role as helping bring those leaders together to create deals, partnerships, and decisions that actually move the needle in cities.

Where is capital flowing across the mobility space right now, and what areas are gaining the most traction?

One major area is the artificial intelligence overlay of mobility. We are seeing a lot of capital going there. AI can help cities predict traffic flows in advance and organize transportation systems in much smarter and more efficient ways.

That matters in places like Miami, where traffic congestion can be crippling. Better tools to manage those flows will have a real impact, which is one of the reasons this is such an exciting time in the mobility space.

How do you see autonomous mobility and advanced air mobility developing, particularly in Florida?

CoMotion was the first group anywhere to start talking about urban air mobility and the advent of flying cars some nine years ago, and we’re starting to see it now. Autonomous mobility is also starting to happen. Taking the driver out of a car will be a fundamental change in how people move in the future.

Florida is one of the most promising places in North America for this. Its geography, both physical and political, makes it ripe for advanced air mobility solutions like electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. You have a north-south axis of urbanization and many destinations that are close enough to be connected efficiently but far enough that driving can be frustrating. Routes such as Miami to Palm Beach, Miami to the Keys, and Miami to Tampa are well suited for this type of service.

What are city leaders telling you about balancing long-term infrastructure needs with pressure to adopt new technologies?

City leaders have to be careful. You do not want to go overboard and adopt solutions that have not been fully tested. When it comes to infrastructure, the biggest challenge is funding.

With less federal support for cities, local leaders are under more pressure to find innovative financing solutions for mobility projects. That is why at CoMotion, we have a working group called the Sustainable Urban Mobility Investment Task Force, which looks at new financing models, including new forms of public-private partnership. There is no single answer, so cities have to be flexible and creative.

How should cities and ports rethink logistics to reduce congestion and improve efficiency?

This is especially important for Miami because of the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, and the airport. How those systems mesh together matters enormously.

You want truck movement in and out of ports to be efficient and clean. Diesel exhaust is not something people should be breathing in, so we are supportive of electric or hydrogen-powered trucking, which I think is going to be the future. Artificial intelligence will also be a major driver of efficiency in logistics, and this is one area where we are going to see big productivity gains.

How can global events like the World Cup and Olympics accelerate mobility innovation?

These events can create a real catalyst. For Miami, because of the World Cup and other mega-events, Miami-Dade is going to face enormous pressure on mobility. I do not see that only as a challenge, but as an opportunity to demonstrate what scalable innovation can look like.

I have a lot of respect for leaders in the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County. They understand what is at stake. These events can force cities to solve mobility problems faster and can leave a lasting legacy in infrastructure and transportation systems.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in building more connected and efficient mobility systems?

One major challenge is financing, and another is that cities have had to catch up quickly with technological change. Ten years ago, city administrations and transportation departments generally were not thinking in these terms. Then new players like Bird and Uber arrived, and cities had to learn quickly how to respond.

What we have seen over the last decade is city administrators getting much more up to speed on technology. That has created a more level playing field between innovators and the public sector, and that makes faster progress possible.

What will define the cities that successfully attract investment, talent, and innovation in mobility?

The cities that make mobility and goods movement more efficient will attract knowledge workers and investment. Cities that figure out public-private partnerships in smart ways and channel investment into new kinds of infrastructure will be successful.

Freight and port logistics are also an underrated opportunity. In a city like Miami, inefficiencies in those systems create real economic and environmental costs that spill over into the rest of the urban fabric.

What projects or developments in Miami could transform mobility in the coming years?

Miami-Dade has been good on several things, including bus rapid transit. But the city as a whole is at a historic inflection point. There is rapid population growth, a booming tech and venture capital ecosystem, a major port, and one of the busiest airports in the hemisphere. Those are exactly the kinds of conditions where next-generation mobility solutions can make a difference.

In a few years, people may be able to hop on a small electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in downtown Miami and land in Miami Beach minutes later, avoiding long, bumper-to-bumper drives across the causeway. That would dramatically change daily life.

Another important area is maritime mobility. Miami is a city on the water, and water-based connectivity can become much more important in the future. Companies are developing electric sea gliders, battery-electric boats, and hydrogen-powered boats, and that could be transformational for a place like Miami.

As you look ahead, what should leaders keep top of mind?

Innovation is the key word, but it has to be approached in a smart and practical way. One of the biggest issues we focus on at CoMotion is the gap between pilots and scale. Everybody can do a pilot, but few have figured out how to go from a pilot to citywide deployment.

I also want to stress again how important public-private collaboration is. Public-private collaboration is no longer optional. It’s the only way to scale in the future.

There are also three major technological buckets dominating the urban mobility agenda: autonomy and driverless vehicles, advanced air mobility, and the automation of logistics through artificial intelligence. Miami is relevant to all three. Leaders need to keep investing in both physical and digital infrastructure, while also making sure freight and port logistics remain part of the broader mobility conversation.