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Top minds for NSW summit

Apple co-founder to headline Future Transport Summit in Sydney next month

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will headline the two-day Future Transport Summit, which kicks off in Sydney on April 19.

This week’s announcement shows the New South Wales (NSW) Government is bringing in the big guns to advocate for cutting-edge technology to be applied to its public transport network, with information technology and innovative ways of applying it the major focus of the summit.

“We’ve got big data happening, Opal, ridesharing and the advent of the driverless car around the corner,  I want to work with those in-the-know to get a better grasp of what’s coming next and how we can adapt,” NSW Government minister for transport and infrastructure Andrew Constance says.

“The summit is a way to start thinking about how we’re going to get people in towns and cities across NSW from point A to point B using the latest advances in technology from around the world.

“With the population set to jump by around two million people in the next 20 years and technology moving faster than ever before, we’ve got to get ahead of the game.”

The summit brings representatives from emerging start-ups and some of the world’s leading technology and transport companies together to map out ways public transport can be improved from a user perspective.

“This is an Australian first and will feature workshops, insights and an industry ideas and an innovations lab, where companies can pitch products and ideas that could improve transport and the customer experience,” Constance says.

“I’m excited we’ve got some big names from Sydney and around the world headlining the event, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.”

Wozniak says he is excited to be heading to Sydney for the summit to talk all things innovation, technology and transportation.

“Technology is moving so rapidly and if organisations want to remain relevant, they need to look to the future,” he says.

“If they simply keep doing things the way they’ve always been done, they risk getting blindsided by the latest disruptive technologies.”

Technology is already having a massive impact on transportation and according to Wozniak, this will only intensify.

“It won’t be long before everyone will be turning to self-driving cars and using their Apple watch to tap onto the bus. The possibilities are endless,” Wozniak says.

Registrations are now open for industry leaders to attend and those interested can register via the Transport for NSW (TfNSW) website.

The summit is part of the NSW Government’s Future Transport Program, which aims to harness the latest technology to drive improvements to its public transport network.

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