As populations in cities increase, smart mobility systems are becoming more important than ever before. Innovative and cost-effective technology is emerging and helping city planners adapt to these changes and make strategic decisions to pave the way for better urban mobility.
The global smart cities market is expected to grow to $820.7B by 2025, with more and more government initiatives underway that encourage smarter mobility solutions. New York, Paris, and Singapore are leading by example, with standout practices that improve the way their citizens get around.
New York’s 5G network to improve mobility
New York City ranks in the top spot for mobility on the IESE’s city in motion list and for a good reason. NYC has a highly developed metro system with the largest number of stations and environmentally-friendly rental options such as bikes and scooters. The big apple is also paving the way for smart mobility to go beyond infrastructure. Transit Wireless is a 5G mobile service connecting millions of NYC subway-goers. Right now, Transit Wireless allows individuals to access the internet while underground, but it’s actually setting the stage for autonomous vehicles to seamlessly fit into the NYC system. You might be asking how? Well, as of July 2021, NYC has autonomous vehicles operating within their streets. For these types of cars to avoid collisions and adjust to city patterns, an effective 5G network is required for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Although we are still decades from fully-autonomous vehicles on the road, NYC is gaining momentum and innovating as a smart city should.
Paris prioritizes its people
Paris is a European city that has been a leader in mobility infrastructure for years. In 2007, Paris launched one of the first public bike sharing programs called “Velib,” which is the world’s largest system outside of China. Today, they have over 23,000 bikes on the streets of Paris. Although the city is based around non-motorized transport such as bikes, officials are still acutely aware of the need for vehicles. Paris is committed to improving public transportation and has continuously increased its reach with rapid-transit lines and new routes. As well, with sidewalk improvements and the addition of bike lanes, they have taken some congestion off of the roads and ultimately decreased traffic fatalities by 40% since 2010. Paris is a strong example to showcase how small changes can have such a large overall impact.
Singapore’s 15-year plan to smart mobility
Over the last 50 years, Singapore has experienced a 300% increase in population and a 600% increase in vehicles on the road. To combat the effects of this, they have taken a multi-step approach to achieve sustainable smart mobility. In 2014, Singapore launched “Smart Mobility 2030” — a strategic plan outlining how they will develop their Intelligent Transport Systems over the next 15 years. With a goal of moving toward a more connected and interactive community, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Intelligent Transportation Society Singapore (ITSS) joined forces to tap into technological advancements. There are three key strategies that this plan focuses on including better travel for commuters, developing standards for sharing accurate data, and facilitating partnerships with the public and private sectors to promote awareness. As of 2021, Singapore has already made progress with a pilot program for an autonomous bus system. With this large-scale, innovative approach, it’s no doubt that Singapore is a trailblazer in urban mobility.
It’s great to see what our global community is doing to achieve smart urban mobility solutions. While smart cities will not be built overnight, the use of platforms like Roker can help cities get on their way. The Roker platform easily interfaces with Smart City systems to provide real-time monitoring, which can help to inform urban planning and traffic-related decisions. To learn more about how Roker can help, contact us here.
