Prince Constantijn calls on ITS sector to support start-ups

Entrepreneurs need collaboration and support from established ITS companies to solve smart mobility issues, urged a member of the Dutch royal family, speaking at the official opening of Intertraffic 2018. His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn van Oranje said: “When we think about smart mobility and MaaS, at some point we turn to start-ups.” The Prince, who is special envoy for the Dutch government’s StartupDelta initiative, suggested that entrepreneurs were not coming up with ‘crazy’ ideas – rather, they w
March 20, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Entrepreneurs need collaboration and support from established ITS companies to solve smart mobility issues, urged a member of the Dutch royal family, speaking at the official opening of Intertraffic 2018.


His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn van Oranje said: “When we think about smart mobility and MaaS, at some point we turn to start-ups.” The Prince, who is special envoy for the Dutch government’s StartupDelta initiative, suggested that entrepreneurs were not coming up with ‘crazy’ ideas – rather, they were presenting solutions to what he sees as ‘crazy’ transport problems.

“We think it’s normal to sit in traffic for hours, polluting the planet,” His Majesty said. “So flip it round: they are coming up with pragmatic solutions for our very stupid mobility systems. For this miracle to happen, we need communication.”

His Royal Highness encouraged show visitors to go and talk to entrepreneurs who are exhibiting at Intertraffic’s ITSUP event in Hall 9.  

Related Content

  • All change at ITS International
    February 9, 2018
    After four and a half interesting years, this will be my last issue as editor of ITS International. Over that time, I have had the privilege to meet and interview some of the ITS sector’s big names, attend most of the industry’s major events and, I hope, pass on some of that information to you, the readers. What has become clear is that the era of public austerity has created in many local and regional authorities, a fear of being accused of ‘wasting taxpayers’ money’. This is preventing them from visiting
    Read More
  • V2X: “The stars are aligning,” says Qualcomm’s Jim Misener
    July 5, 2023
    The roll-out of Vehicle to Everything technology has been given a massive boost by the US Federal Communications Commission: Adam Hill talks to Qualcomm’s Jim Misener and Andres Castrillon to find out why it matters so much – and what the next steps to mass deployment are
    Read More
  • Options abound for road weather sensing
    September 6, 2017
    Meteorological organisations invest millions in super-computers to crunch data for ever-more accurate forecasts but inherent unpredictability means that other methods of alerting drivers and road authorities to fast-changing weather and highway conditions are essential. For years, static weather sensors to measure factors such as surface water, ice or high roadway temperatures have been embedded in highways to provide such data. But that is changing.
    Read More
  • Christian Haas, PTV: 'Be optimistic, innovative and strong'
    May 27, 2020
    Christian Haas joined PTV as chief executive in November last year after a career spent on the technology side of the financial services industry. Adam Hill asks him about how the transport and mobility industry will be reshaped in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic
    Read More

Highlighted Content