Sounding the Alarm
Bob Galvin Explains Why We Should Confront the Congestion Crisis
Interview by Ted Balaker

Reason’s Galvin Mobility Project is made possible by the generous support of Bob Galvin, former CEO and Chairman of Motorola. Mr. Galvin led the company through nearly three decades of growth and was instrumental in implementing the Six Sigma quality system at Motorola. In 2005, he received the Vannevar Bush Award for giving “the Nation the benefit of his knowledge, expertise and creative wisdom while leading his company in its great contribution to the computing and telecommunications transformation of society.”

In May 2006, Reason interviewed Mr. Galvin about urban congestion and the Galvin Mobility Project.

What got you interested in mobility issues?

I try to think of big subjects at least once in a while and I was thinking of the jobs situation in America. And even though there’s pretty good employment now there are challenges to creating enough jobs in America. To me whenever there’s a need you have to have a strategy. A strategy is an application of resources and I thought, we need some new strategies in the United States in order to have employment opportunities. And two of those things I thought of were there has to be a reliable energy system and the other is we have to eliminate congestion. And I was thinking of it as a convenience and in the middle of my thinking I said wait a minute—congestion is the same thing as an arterial problem in the body. And if it gets clogged, it dies.

What do you expect the Galvin Mobility Project to accomplish?

I expect it to achieve a recognition of the principle I just described. And then someone asks, well what do you do about it? Well you have to have arteries. You put in more blood vessels and those blood vessels will come in two forms that are not currently very apparent. One is tunnels and the other is bridges.

Few government officials talk about actually cutting congestion. Most just hope to reduce congestion’s rate of growth. Why have Americans accepted this surrender?

I think they’re accepting it unconsciously, reluctantly because they assume nothing can be done about it. If we awaken the world, if we eliminate the problem, imagine what we will do to the dynamics of the economy.

Why do you think that our political class has been so slow to address the issue of mobility and congestion?

Most leaders are not good anticipators. I’ve known lots and lots and lots of leaders and particularly those that are allegedly influential in Washington and they’re ossified.

What about the business community?

They’re oblivious to it.

Do you think that’s beginning to change?

I think we have a chance to change it, but on its own it’s not changing. Over the years I’ve watched the ordinary thinking of the people that had titles and they were just doing ordinary things. They were never attempting to anticipate the grand situation. What we have to have is a passion. This isn’t just another lane on the highway or a little better timing of lights or a picking up of accidents faster. Those are what I call the “art of the possible.” And that’s what most leaders do, they just deal with the art of the possible and then they list four or five things that they’re doing and you’ve done your job, and you go home.

But that’s not real leadership. A leader is someone who takes us elsewhere and I think my thesis will take people elsewhere if they’ll follow it.

France, Australia and other nations have embraced privatization, tunneling and other innovative ideas more than we have. How will that affect our competitiveness?

I hope it inspires us. The Europeans are way ahead of us. The awakening has to come from our group. We are the alarm clock.

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