Abstract:The findings of the 13th Biennial Asilomar Conference on Transportation and Energy point to a growing abundance of transportation technologies and fuels competing for market dominance around the world. But policy makers and researchers cannot focus solely on technologies and fuels and expect to improve mobility in a sustainable way. They need to, and are, grappling more and more with the human dimension. What do people think about climate change? How do they respond to new technologies, messages and policies? How should researchers and policymakers communicate these complex topics to the public? The 2011 Asilomar gathering addressed the human factor as a central component of the continuing policy and technology discussion.