Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Tale of Four Cities
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
As metropolitan populations boom the world over, cities face a pernicious mounting problem: extreme congestion. Amidst this grim reality, a critical need for multi-modal, equitable transportation solutions has arisen.
To meet these challenges, innovators across the globe are now implementing smart transportation systems that offer a better mobility experience to urban citizens. While these initiatives are quite divergent, they nevertheless share a common commitment to recognising people’s needs and desires to create better, more equitable transportation for the future.
Here are four examples of cities spanning three continents which prioritise the needs of their citizenry in developing intelligent transportation systems.
Las Vegas, USA: Revolutionising transportation through IoT
Las Vegas is most famous for its nightlife and entertainment, but it’s also gaining a reputation as a leader in smart mobility.
The city faces a unique set of challenges. With a population of 2.2 million in the greater region, Las Vegas is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the US. During every time of the year, tourists pour into Las Vegas to enjoy its world-renowned casinos and other attractions. (In 2016, 43 million tourists visited the city.) Additionally, the city has recently initiated efforts to diversify its economy and attract technology companies. Downtown Vegas is now becoming a tech hub.
All of this means that there’s a serious traffic problem. Las Vegas turned to the Internet of Things (IoT) to address congestion. Through its partnership with Cisco, the city is piloting a number of initiatives designed to make transportation less of a headache for tourists and residents alike.
The city is making its streets “smarter” by installing sensors at 2,300 intersections. With this information, city traffic controllers can better regulate traffic in real time. Many traffic control functions will be fully automated. So if you’re the only driver at an intersection at three in the morning, you won’t have to deal with red lights. Traffic jams will be spotted and better alleviated.
Drivers will also have access to more information. Soon, traffic lights will communicate with cars so that drivers know when a light is about to change. This innovation has the potential to reduce both congestion and automobile fatalities. Las Vegas has an open data policy that has implications for parking, emergency service provision, and other critical transportation policies.
The reason why the city’s smart transportation initiatives are working is because they meet the real needs of Vegas residents and visitors. People want to navigate traffic more easily, avoid accidents, and find parking. The city’s smart transportation works with the city’s needs while also pointing towards an exciting future.
Helsinki, Finland: How MaaS is reshaping transportation
For the past several years, Helsinki has embarked on the next frontier for urban transportation: Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Many proponents describe MaaS as “Netflix for transportation,” basically meaning that users have the option of on-demand transportation with a diverse array of choices.
Ever since 2016, Helsinki residents have had the option of using a mobile app called Whim. The app is basically an all-in-one transportation assistant. Users can use the app to plan and pay for all forms of public and private transportation available in the city, including train, taxi, bus, carshare, or bikeshare. Users simply enter their destination into Whim and the app presents them with a complete itinerary and list of options.
Whim doesn’t tell users what mode of transportation to use, but merely suggests different options and makes transportation easy. This model works particularly well in Finland, where people tend to be less wedded to car ownership as compared to the US.
The architects of Helsinki’s MaaS system hope that the system will lead to a growth in electric car and hybrid car usage. (After all, driving an electric car is more convenient with support from smart technology.) It’s also likely that MaaS will improve the efficiency of the logistics industry in Finland.
Finland has long served as a leader in intelligent transportation systems. Helsinki drivers enjoy an in-vehicle emergency call service that automatically calls emergency services in the event of a road accident. Starting in 2017, eCall in-vehicle emergency call services are mandatory for all new vehicles in the European Union.
With Helinski’s open access to data and innovation-friendly legislation, it’s likely that the city will continue to be a leader in smart transportation.
Mexico City, Mexico: People and incentives = smart transportation
Mexico’s capital is home to 22 million people – a figure that is growing as rural migrants flock to the city for economic opportunities. 30 million tourists come to the city every year to view Mexico City’s many attractions, making it the most-visited city in Latin America.
With so many people and vehicles, the city has serious problems with congestion and air pollution. Many city residents spend hours commuting to and from their jobs daily. Since car ownership is relatively low, they’re oftentimes relying on bikes and privately owned “microbuses,” which are highly inefficient and unregulated. But even though car ownership is growing steadily, Mexico City’s roads have trouble accommodating all of the vehicles.
To address these problems, the city authorities are embarking on public-private partnerships to implement transport demand management (TDM).
There are several goals to TDM, including a gradual reduction in the overall number of car trips. The city has implemented new affordable energy-efficient buses, which have their own dedicated road lanes. Mexico City also hopes to incentivise carsharing and bikesharing. For an urban population already accustomed to microbuses, these new modes of transportation aren’t much of a leap.
City leaders also hope to incorporate public responsiveness into their smart transportation projects. The idea is that citizens should easily be able to contact their municipal government – and receive a timely response.
The Mexico City model relies on providing incentives for residents to try alternative modes of transportation and asking for their input, not punishing people for making “wrong” decisions. As a result, the city is now a leader for innovative transportation not just in Latin America, but for the world.
Guangzhou, China: “Internet plus transportation”
Like many cities in China, Guangzhou has traditionally had a serious problem with traffic gridlock. But Guangzhou is making great strides in improving commute times for its residents. Average vehicle speed during rush hour improved 6.71% during 2016. More than 60% of Guangzhou residents say that they’re satisfied with the state of downtown traffic—an astonishing metric by any standard. So it’s not surprising that the city ranks first in smart transportation among 62 major Chinese cities.
Guangzhou has accomplished this through a strategy city officials call “Internet plus transportation” (a strategy that is gaining popularity in China and elsewhere).
The basic idea is to use mobile applications to offer urban residents greater convenience in booking bikesharing and carsharing services. These apps are made possible through public-private partnerships.
Additionally, Guangzhou is working to improve its bus system, with an eye towards efficiency and affordability. Its Bus Rapid Transit system is unique among bus systems in Asia because of its high capacity and average speeds. The system is a good fit for a city with high population density. What’s more, air quality in Guangzhou is improving.
The Internet plus transportation strategy works because it expands the number of options available to Guangzhou residents while making smart use of consumer technology that residents already own.
While these four cities look very different from each other, all are improving the mobility experience through smart transportation. The common factors: attentiveness to people’s needs and a willingness to innovate.
Parkofon