Recap of the Gallup Mobility Hub Virtual Event

Self-driving vehicles are our future, and initiatives are in place to make Greater Gallup and New Mexico national hubs for autonomous mobility. A 2-day virtual Economic Roundtable took place on February 11th and 12th. The purpose of the event was to further advance New Mexico’s mobility strategy, and to further advance an integrated strategy to establish a "mobility hub" in Gallup in partnership with the state of NM.  

A core assumption for this project is that the pace of change and growth in the mobility sector will create significant new research and development, production and supply chain investment opportunities related to autonomous vehicles, AI and robotics. The assumptions were lined out in a white paper GGEDC circulated to the participants in advance of the Roundtable. 

The event was focused on educating community, business, and political leaders not only the future potential of self-driving vehicles in New Mexico, but also the current challenges.  In addition to learning more about the vehicles themselves, participants also learned more about the infrastructure needed to support them. The event also focused on vetting a 24-month plan GGEDC drafted to establish The Gallup Mobility Hub.

Panelists and speakers included experts from: Zayo, Daimler, UPS, Gatik, Pajarito Powder, Kalmar, The New Mexico Department of Transportation, and GLD Partners. GGEDC staff and Jeff Kiely of Kiely Consulting produced and facilitated the event.

Topics of presentation and discussion included:

• The New Mexico Mobility Strategy 
• Enabling legislation to regulate autonomous vehicles on New Mexico roads 
• Private Sector views on how to build the mobility sector in Gallup and New Mexico
• Establishing a Gallup to Albuquerque dedicated Mobility Corridor
• Workforce development to support autonomous vehicle testing and development

In addition to breakouts sessions, surveys, video presentations, including The Gateway to the Navajo Nation, the virtual gathering provided multiple opportunities for participant engagement with the experts and each other.     

The Gallup Mobility Hub is a call to action. The time is now. For more than a century, a people have been responsible for driving motor vehicles. The widespread use of Autonomous Vehicles will profoundly affect most industry sectors. As the New Mexico Mobility Strategy stated, “Those communities that can provide the necessary infrastructure for autonomous research, testing and development will be positioned to capitalize on this extensive new manufacturing sector.”

If you missed this event, or weren’t able to catch all of it, you can view and download many of the materials by visiting the Mobility Roundtable website.