In launching TravelSpirit Europe – which will include the UK, Switzerland and other non-EU countries – TravelSpirit Foundation is calling for a new approach to the strategic interplay between transport and technology that focuses on achieving system interoperability, data portability and seamless outcomes for people and goods on the move.
With support from industry, including our strategic partnership with Europe’s Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Alliance, TravelSpirit Europe will curate an open ecosystem of cities, disruptive thinkers, tech firms and transport operators – drawn from all transport sectors.
James Gleave, Executive Director of TravelSpirit Foundation
It will act as an investment and common infrastructure platform to develop the necessary open protocols and encourage open technology development by its ecosystem, to common MaaS industry standards . This will ensure seamless handover across borders and across various modes – including automotive, airlines, public transport and sharing economy / new mobility services.
In this way, the strategic goal of TravelSpirit Europe will be to enable the faster scaling up of innovative service solutions – many of which emerging from European start-up hotspots in Helsinki, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin – for enabling more efficient cross border movements and trade.
Stefano Mainero, Regional Chair of TravelSpirit Europe
TravelSpirit Europe will formally launch on 11th April 2019, in Brussels at Open Mobility Conference 2019 – the world’s first open ecosystem development event for the future of mobility. This event is being supported by a range of organisations, including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), SGInnovate (Singapore), Autonomy & the Urban Mobility Summit, the City of Antwerp and Europcar Mobility Group.
Cross border movements will be a theme for one of our workshop sessions, co-facilitated by Iconic Blockchain CTO and Global Chair of TravelSpirit Foundation, Simon Herko (aka Si Ho) and Chairman of the Share & Charge Foundation, Dietrich Sümmermann.