PinkValley

PinkValley, an initiative by PinkRoccade Local Government, is an innovation platform that brings together citizens, municipality workers and software professionals with the ambition to co-create and turn innovative ideas into apps. From market demand to working apps. Yonder is the sponsor of PinkValley and the development partner.

LARS – Winner 2015 Computable Awards in the category Education

LARS stands for ‘Leerlingen App Rijd Samen’ which means App for Students Driving Together. It is an initiative by PinkValley. PinkValley is the innovation think-tank of PinkRoccade (Local Government and Healthcare) and Yonder (all part of TSS). Yonder developed the app.

This is how innovations come about. A father has his doubts about the 20 km taxi drive that his son uses to go to school for children with special needs. The bus is often quite empty which means that his son has little social contact. There are probably other kids living along the 20 km drive to school. Why not set up his own service via a simple app where children can register for a ride to or from school. An ‘Uber’ for students.

Through discussions with municipalities, schools and advisors, PinkValley concluded that 10 to 15 percent of the students could use LARS. Figures from 2012 and 2013 show that around 79,000 students use student transportation. This is an average of 194 students per municipality. The costs are around 230 million euros; around 500k per municipality and 2,9k per student. The LARS app could not only improve the social lives of these children with special needs but also save the municipalities money.

Jury perspective
The jury was impressed by the way the problem was addressed through creative thinking that has led to a simple yet effective solution whereby a vulnerable group is brought out of their social isolation. Children can get to school and back home easily with this app, but also make play dates. The parents run the service, and school plays a central role in the coordination: everybody is happy. Real innovations should be convenient and lead to a better life.

Visit the PinkValley website.

More information on one of the apps of the first PinkValley edition, GoOV, can be found via this link.

“It is an honor to work together with Yonder and to have the ideas that arose from PinkValley become a reality. From the winner of the first PinkValley, Guide, now called GoOV to LARS, the winner of a Computable Award in 2015. Both are apps that have an impact” by Sanne van der Zande, Marketing & Communication specialist