PORTIS multimodal route planner - Antwerp

Summary

When we think about innovation, we often think about new technical products and solutions. For mobility planners, it is important to carefully consider how such entrepreneurial energy, resources and products can be channeled to help meet policy objectives.

The approach of the City of Antwerp to creating a marketplace for MaaS is a case in point. By developing its own intermodal routeplanner apps and API, the city is able to provide travel advice that takes into account planned disruptions (e.g. construction works), as well as routing advice that prevents heavy traffic in neighbourhood zones where walking and cycling is encouraged. Private and community sector MaaS providers are also able to utilise this city-sensitive routeplanner via the API, and the launch of new MaaS solutions is embedded within the city’s behavioural change campaign that encourages a mind, modal and time (of travel) shift. This is a fantastic example of technical innovation combined with organisational innovation.