Olof Persson, Volvo Group president and chief executive officer, called for greater cooperation between industry and policy makers during his speech at the International Transport Forum.
Speaking on the subject of ICT as an enabler for increased transport efficiency, traffic safety, and sustainability, the Volvo chief highlighted the fact that industry cannot drive change unilaterally.
“A closer cooperation between business and policy makers is needed to increase transport efficiency,” said Persson.
“We need much stronger support from authorities and society as new paradigm shift concepts are very cost intensive to introduce.
“Society must be prepared for introducing them, for instance, within the framework of infrastructure and connectivity standards,” he added.
Persson also pointed out the important role of technology in laying the groundwork for wide-ranging, transport-related change.
“ICT solutions can be a catalyst for environmental, economic and societal sustainability,” he told his audience.
“In this area, we have everything to gain from closer cooperation between policy makers and industry,” Persson concluded.
Part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Transport Forum is an annual gathering of transport ministers, decision makers, and experts, held in Leipzig, Germany. The topic of discussion this year is ‘transport for a changing world’.
