As 2025 approaches, we’re pausing to reflect on the past year at the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF). Together with our community of public and private sector members, partners, and advisors, we’ve advanced digital tools, built connections, and driven meaningful change.

This year, collaboration took center stage, guiding us toward a shared vision for smarter cities and more equitable public spaces. Here’s a look back at what we achieved and a preview of what’s to come.

Advancing Digital Infrastructure

The digital tools developed by OMF continue to evolve, meeting new challenges and unlocking opportunities for cities and companies alike:

Expanding the SMART Curb Collaborative: With Boston joining and Stage 2 funding secured by Minneapolis and Seattle, the SMART Curb Collaborative scaled its impact. This group leveraged CDS to tackle real-world challenges and advance curb management practices nationwide.

Shaping the Next Version of the Curb Data Specification (CDS): Real-world implementations, including those from SMART Curb Collaborative cities, are informing updates to CDS. Current priorities include better support for curb objects and computer vision data, human-readable naming for curb zones, and solutions for double parking and lane mapping.

Guiding the Future of MDS: Our annual State of MDS Survey revealed growing adoption, with more cities upgrading to newer versions and utilizing features like the Policy API. In response, the MDS Working Group is co-creating the next update, focusing on use cases for real-time emergency response, crash data, and robotaxis.

Streamlining Adoption with OpenAPI Definitions: By releasing OpenAPI definitions for MDS and CDS, we’ve made it easier for cities and private companies to integrate these standards into their systems, paving the way for more effective and efficient urban mobility management.

Building and Connecting the OMF Community

Our community thrives because of the diverse voices that shape it. In 2024, we fostered connections and created spaces for meaningful collaboration:

Welcoming New Members: We added 10 members from the public and private sectors, along with new board representatives from Minneapolis and Boston. We also piloted a new individual membership program to welcome even more voices into our work.

Hosting the 2024 OMF Summit: Co-hosted with CoMotion LA, more than 200 attendees gathered to explore how data, digital infrastructure, and collaboration are transforming urban mobility.

Engaging at Major Events: From CoMotion Miami and ITS World Congress to IPMI, NACTO, MOVE Austin, and the first New Mobility Center of Excellence Advisory Committee meeting, we showcased our members’ work and hosted social gatherings to deepen relationships across the mobility ecosystem.

Empowering the Ecosystem with Knowledge

Beyond building tools, we focused on equipping cities and partners with the knowledge to succeed:

Supporting the SMART Curb Collaborative: We launched a resource hub featuring white papers, webinar recordings, and case studies to share best practices and lessons learned from SMART grant projects.

Hosting Webinars on Key Topics: From CDS basics and curb management strategies to insights from the SMART Curb Collaborative, our webinars reached a broad audience and sparked important discussions.

Exploring Advanced Air Mobility (AAM): Following a series of roundtable discussions on the topic, our white paper on AAM shed light on the role of digital policy in emerging modes like air taxis, offering guidance for cities navigating these new frontiers.

Fostering a Global Perspective

This year, OMF connected our community to international partners, sparking collaboration and inspiring innovation:

Learning Abroad: The SMART Curb Collaborative’s European Study Tour highlighted best practices in sustainable urban logistics and mobility from leading cities across Europe.

Exchanging Strategies: We partnered with the POLIS Network to host conversations on the digitization of public space, bringing together North American and European perspectives.

Welcoming International Members: New members from Halifax, the Barcelona region, and commercial partners AppyWay and Beam joined our growing global network.

Looking Ahead

As we close the chapter on 2024, we’re excited to build on the progress we’ve made. With updates to MDS and CDS on the horizon, an expanding community of members and partners, and continued opportunities for collaboration, the future of mobility has never looked brighter.

Thank you to everyone who made this year a success. Together, we’re shaping the digital infrastructure of the future—one that works for better for our communities.

Here’s to another year of innovation and impact in 2025!