Entrepreneur in Residence

The Transport Institute would like to thank our Entrepreneur in Residence during 2018-2020, Ben Whitaker, Co-Founder of Masabi, where he is Head of Innovation. The company, employing 100 people, provides digital and mobile ticketing to public transport agencies around the world, from Australia to Alaska, including many large cities such as New York and LA. The company sells over $3/4Bn worth of tickets a year and saves over $100m for agencies. Ben is also a Non-Exec Director of on-demand coach startup, Sn-ap.com.

Ben was part of the Royal Society's Entrepreneur in Residence programme and was with the Transport Institute in a small fractional post through April 2020. He engaged with about 400 people at UCL during his term, through talks to large groups, classroom sessions, workshops, and in consultations with entrepreneurial academics and in meetings with UCL Innovation and Enterprise staff. His focus was helping people turn academic ideas into real world ventures, particularly in the realms of urban infrastructure and city services and innovatiors that supply government organisations/public bodies.