Exclusive Interview |
Seven
The number of separate
MaaS pilots underway or
planned in the Netherlands,
overseen by the Ministry of
Infrastructure and Water
Management
Right: Hands-on
demonstrations
are always a key
feature of the show
floor at Intertraffic
Amsterdam
Below: VR
experiences are
an increasingly
common site in the
exhibition halls
008 Traffic Technology International March/April 2020
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
de Jonge. “Eliminating startstop
at junctions – that’s a lot of
unnecessary stops we can reduce.”
Talking Traffic currently
encompasses virtually all vendors
in the traffic industry in the Netherlands and
around 80 municipal and provincial public
organizations working together with the
Ministry. Communication with vehicles uses the
Netherland’s existing 4G LTE cellular mobile
network, which is one of the most advanced in
the world, and connections can be made to
vehicles either via dedicated hardware or a
simple app. And of course, the entire project
embodies the egalitarian, pragmatic Dutch
nature and full attention to privacy and security.
“We can serve any car brand,” says de Jonge.
“We’re not biased towards one brand or the
other. We want to serve as many brands and as
many road users as we can.
“It’s a quid pro quo. We supply all of our data,
but to really manage traffic as efficiently as
possible we need to be aware of where road
users will be, what their estimated time of
arrival will be at a particular junction, and what
their route into the city will be. That’s something
we can help each other with tremendously – of
course with full respect for GDPR, that’s a given.”
Mobility as a Service
Another key focus for the Ministry, and certain
to be one of the most talked-about areas of
innovation at Intertraffic Amsterdam, is
Mobility as a Service. This is a new concept that
once again plays to the Dutch national strength
in cooperation.
“The first thing we started out with in our
MaaS programme was a one contract for all,”
says de Jonge. “Everybody was welcome. But we
have the same rules, regulations, stipulations
and agreements for everybody, making a level
playing field for all interested parties. It was like
a regular procurement process. I think about 24
interviewees came through the qualification.
“We now have seven pilot regions to enable
the first experience of how that unified contract
pans out in and around a city or a group of
cities, for specific target groups, and how
public and private organizations can enter into
a mutual beneficial relationship.
“One of the main, most important aspects is
that MaaS is an ecosystem approach. So we’re
happy to share our data with private enterprises,
but they are required to send data back so that it
gives us a clear insight into how MaaS can be
beneficial to different groups – how it works,
what we don’t want to see happen, and how we
can stimulate each other.
“We have our first five pilots underway, the
final two will be operational in spring. And then
we will have a period of about a year, maybe two,
to see how that develops and who’s using it.”
Although the concept of MaaS – linking all
modes of transport together on a single unified
platform for planning and payment – is
relatively straightforward, de Jonge is under no
illusions as to the complexity of the task ahead.
“As a MaaS service provider you need the
contract you’ve put into place with the
government. But you also need to connect with
all the transport companies, the ride sharing
companies, bike rentals and what have you.
You’ve got to order the trip and be able to reserve
certain vehicles or transport means and you’ve
got to be able to pay – all within one app. That’s
just on the business side.
“That’s a lot of cooperation needed in the
client value chain,” admits de Jonge, but
as a proud Dutchman, working together is in
his DNA and he remains undaunted. “Let’s
get together, get our hands dirty… and push
things forward.”
We’re
happy to
share our data
with private
enterprises, but they
are required to send
data back so that it
gives us a clear insight
into how MaaS can
be beneficial to
different groups
Caspar de Jonge, programme
manager, Data and Services,
Ministry for Infrastructure
and Water Management
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