INDUSTRY WATCH
M
ichael Bültmann, Managing
Director in charge of
international relations at HERE
Technologies, a global leader in mapping
and location platform services, says that
society needs to solve some fundamental
challenges, and relevant location data
can play a key role in creating a better
future for mobility in South Africa.
“If we know where the goods and people
are, and how and why they move, we
have the basis for a system that matches
demand and supply far more closely and
uses our transport infrastructure more
efficiently,” he said.
“But no company, government or
individual can do it all themselves.
It’s all about collaborating. If we get
real-time data use right, it would have
a profound effect on the way the entire
economy works – less congestion, fewer
accidents, more efficient use of vehicles
and public transport, less air pollution,
greater quality of life, and potential
savings of billions of rands in fuel, time
and safer roads.”
Speaking at the event hosted by the
international law firm Covington &
Burling in Johannesburg, the CSIR’s Dr
Mathetha Mokonyama said that despite
the billions of rands pumped into the
country’s mass public transport network
in recent years, 90% of commuter seats
available are still provided by either cars
or taxis.
“We have the right to dignity,” he said. “If
you want to see indignity, look at people
getting up at 2am to get unreliable
transport to a job that only pays R3500
a month. In our country, access to
transport is critical for people to make a
living, and our focus as a country should
be to implement an equitable and just
transport system that caters to all sectors
of society.”
Robert Kayihura, senior advisor in
Covington’s Johannesburg office,
said that it was a pleasure to support
the event that brought together so
many viewpoints on the question of
the effective use of data and location
intelligence to enhance the mobility of
goods, people and services.
“While the harmonisation of regulatory
regimes around the continent will take
time, a key takeaway from our discussions
is the critical need to build a shared
vision of the future through consistent
public-private dialogue and collaboration
in order to accelerate and ensure the
sustainable and safe digitisation of
Africa,” he said.
Paul Vorster, the Chief Executive of
the Intelligent Transport Society of SA
(ITSSA), said the effective sharing of
data between metros, government and
the private sector would ‘go a long way’
to improving the efficiency of existing
transport infrastructure.
“The starting point is to improve what we
already have,” he said. “Once we know
what we have – that is, data – we can
start solving real problems, like knowing
where the demand and supply are.
“But to do this, metros will need to learn
from each other, and they often face
political hurdles in the process.”
Michael Bültmann, Managing Director
in charge of international relations at
HERE Technologies
www.intelligentcio.com
Bültmann added that increasing levels
of urbanisation across the world were
creating the need for cities to better
predict, manage and plan future urban
movement. Combining and analysing
data from different, complementary
sources could help South African
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