Municipal government authorities around the world are increasingly moving to implement intelligent traffic management systems, a market which is forecast to experience compound growth of 13.1% in the eight years to 2030.
According to a report from Grand View Research, the Intelligent traffic market is expected to worth US$27.4 billion by 2030, while growth in the Asia Pacific region is expected to be higher than the global average at 16.9%.
In technology terms, the market will be driven by the availability of highly reliable and low-cost sensors, data storage facilities and computing and networking infrastructure, while the demographic push will come from rapid urbanisation and the political momentum for smart city projects.
Intelligent traffic systems reduce congestion, eliminate delays and send accurate information to planners and commuters. The systems can held reduce air pollution, lower the number of road accidents and enhance safety.
While the Asia Pacific is seen as a major growth region, some of the current implementations are in Latin America.
The Peruvian capital of Lima is ranked the third worst city in the world for road congestion, and this has emerged as an issue in the electoral race to be the city’s mayor.
Candidate Yuri Castro, for example, has proposed the installation of intelligent traffic lights as one of the key planks of his electoral platform. A rival candidate, the former footballer George Forsyth, has said that his administration would also install intelligent traffic lights address traffic congestion in a city with 1800 traffic light crossings.
“We are going to save more than 30% of time and we are going to recover more than one hour and a quarter of our lives,” Forsyth has promised.
There is impetus for similar projects in other Peruvian cities with the municipalities of Piura and San Martin both working on new implementations.
Peru has created a Sustainable Urban Transport Program called Promovilidad and the organisation is working with cities throughout the country to promote more sustainable transport systems.
In Argentina, meanwhile, the city of Cordoba – population 1.6 million – has a plan to install 452 new controllers in the traffic lights of the centralised network, replacing copper and GPRS connection systems with 3G and 4G with a planned move to 5G.
Cordoba also plans to incorporate 150 light signals for bicycle lanes being built by the municipality.
Guatemala City is also installing 400 intelligent traffic lights in a plan which the local authorities call the “green wave.” Tenders are soon to be launching the bidding process for the project, and the new lights will also be equipped with cameras to improve security.
Not all intelligent traffic programs are popular, however.
In Zambia, the government is pressing ahead with a US$210 million project to use 4G connectivity to install close circuit television (CCTV) cameras throughout the capital of Lusaka.
Controversy surrounds the Government’s plan to link vehicle driving licence details to bank accounts, and debt traffic offenders directly if they are detected breaking traffic laws.
The project is in partnership with Chinese telecoms company ZTE and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs efforts to curb crime, manage traffic, and enhance public safety.
While the Government has frozen many other digital projects as a result of a debt crisis, it has pressed on with the CCTV installations and the project is now 98% complete.
