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

  • Former US DoT boss says job was sometimes like ‘sitting over trapdoor’
    November 30, 2018
    The political pressure on transit organisations was starkly highlighted by the distinguished former boss of Michigan Department of Transportation at a UK conference this week. Kirk Steudle, who joined Econolite recently after a career in the public sector, said he often felt as though there was “a trapdoor under your seat” while he was in charge of state transportation. Talking about the development of ITS solutions at regional authority level, he said: “The ability to move forward is largely dependen
    Read More
  • Former US DoT boss says job was sometimes like ‘sitting over trapdoor’
    November 30, 2018
    The political pressure on transit organisations was starkly highlighted by the distinguished former boss of Michigan Department of Transportation at a UK conference this week. Kirk Steudle, who joined Econolite recently after a career in the public sector, said he often felt as though there was “a trapdoor under your seat” while he was in charge of state transportation. Talking about the development of ITS solutions at regional authority level, he said: “The ability to move forward is largely dependen
    Read More
  • Hayden AI’s Renee Autumn Ray: ‘It’s about problem solving’
    December 6, 2022
    Renee Autumn Ray is senior director of global strategy for Hayden AI. She has also admitted to impostor syndrome, has no time for people who scorn the public sector and offers one simple rule about social media. Adam Hill meets her to find out what that is, among other things
    Read More
  • Transit must be accessible to all, says SkedGo
    April 24, 2020
    When it comes to accessibility we need to embrace a more open and collaborative approach to ensure MaaS realises its true potential, says SkedGo’s Sandra Witzel – after all, a billion people on the planet have a disability
    Read More

Highlighted Content