Championing and Fostering the Future of Transportation with Derrick Herrmann

With transportation touching nearly every aspect of daily life, advancing technology is rapidly changing how we get around our local region. We sit down with Derrick Herrmann, Chief of Transformational Technology at PennDOT, to explore how the agency is preparing for a future that includes AI-powered traffic systems, automated vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, drones, and advanced air mobility. Derrick walks us through PennDOT’s role in regulating emerging transportation technologies, supporting first responders, and using real-time data to improve roadway safety and reduce congestion – and so much more.

OUR PARTNER

Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce

LINKS

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

• Website: pa.gov/agencies/penndot
• Careers with PennDOT: pa.gov/agencies/employment/penndot
• PennDOT’s upcoming ~$100million of EV charger funding: pa.gov/evcommunity
• Open data platform: data-pennshare.opendata.arcgis.com
• GIS layers for PennDOT: gis.penndot.pa.gov/onemap
• PennStart: pennstart.org

Additional Links

• AV Ride
• Beta Technologies
• Drone 814
• GovernmentJobs.com
• Pennsylvania SPCA
• State Employees Combined Appeal (SECA)

Transportation Organizations

• AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials)
• ITS America
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
• NASEO (National Association of State Energy Officials)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• PAVE (Partners for Automated Vehicle Education)
• Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
• RIDC of Westmoreland
• Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC)

Pennsylvania Universities

• Bucknell University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Safety21 at Carnegie Mellon University
• Larson Transportation Institute at Penn State
• Harrisburg University

Local Bands and Artists

• The Menzingers – Tasker-Morris Station
• The Wonder Years – A Raindance in Traffic
• The Starting Line – Island
• Carly Cosgrove
• Tigers Jaw
• Balance and Composure
• Title Fight
• Bike Routes
• August Burns Red
• Modern Baseball
• Sweet Pill
• mewithoutYou
• Kid Dynamite
• Grayscale
• Valencia
• Man Overboard
• Handguns

Related Episodes

• Advocating for Sustainable Transportation with Tim Phelps

Transcript

The full episode transcript will be posted here as soon as it is available.

Creators and Guests

EG

Host

Erik Gudmundson

LD

Host

Liam Dempsey

What is Start Local?

Start Local is focused on helping businesses and non-profits in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania, connect and grow together. Our aim is to bring together the many folks that make up our wonderful community in greater Philadelphia to share and learn from each other.