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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.  

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