Drive IT smart, from chaos to growth

BANGALORE, INDIA: With over 100 million vehicles on the road and a population of 1.22 billion with an aspiration to own their individual vehicles, India is facing acute challenges in managing its transportation system. What could be done to transform the infrastructure and cruise on fast to a smarter future?

Today, globally, there are one billion cars on the road and it is estimated that this number will be double by 2020. Millions of new cars hit the road every year and the majority of these run in metropolitan cities. A recent estimate says the total number of vehicles in India will be 400-450 million in the next 20 years.

Are we even prepared to tackle this kind of mammoth traffic outburst? Country's current transport infrastructure ca not support its transport needs. Globalization, population growth and rampant urbanization are conspiring to overwhelm transportation systems many of which were built to accommodate a fraction of their current load.

It is time for India to address the lapse and loop holes and transform the existing deteriorating transportation framework to a smarter transportation system that can sustain the unprecedented traffic explosion.

In the current economic environment of our country, transport plays an even greater role as it contributes directly to economic activity of the nation, through bus, rail, road, air and maritime services. It also has a large indirect impact via all the other sectors and activities in the economy that depend on and use these various modes of transport to move people and goods around, nationally and internationally, in an efficient and safe manner. Government and private sector businesses need to use instrumented, interconnected and intelligent technology, devices and vehicles to create smarter transportation systems that can accommodate ever rising demand. It is clear that the way the world builds and expands transportation infrastructure and capacity is changing.

The movement of people and freight across and between cities is critical to economic vitality and quality of life. Congestion is an acute problem in cities around the world, where transportation demand far exceeds capacity. Constant delay of flight and trains, spending never ending hours in a traffic jam not only makes us but the entire system unproductive and also jeopardize the growth of businesses, cities, countries and entire regions, constricting economies and wasting money. Studies reveal that a 10% reduction in congestion can lead to a 3% improvement in employment and 2% improvement in local GDP. City transportation managers must balance capacity needs while addressing four key imperatives: predicting demand and optimizing transportation infrastructure and assets; enhancing traveler experience; improving operational efficiencies while reducing carbon emissions; and sustaining safety and security.

The demands on the world's transportation infrastructure are expected to increase at double the rate of population growth. It's estimated that in the next 20 years up to $30 trillion will be spent in transportation infrastructure across the globe. And emerging economies like India are heavily investing in transportation to serve the needs of their swelling populations and to support economic development.

Challenges are enormous, but so are the opportunities to address the chaotic mobility in our cities. What can be leveraged in chaotic situations is a smart use of sophisticated technology solutions and innovative approaches needed to manage rapid urbanization and replicated through public or private collaboration throughout the urban landscape. Today, technology can help cities create smarter transportation that is adaptable, responsive, sustainable and affordable. We need sophisticated and advanced technologies than just new infrastructure to solve these problems, because the cost of maintaining our existing roads, rails, equipment and terminals is already straining government budget. Fortunately, for the first time, we can measure, monitor and manage transportation operations in real time.

Consider this, high population density on a small island requires Singapore to increase the use of its public transport and keep traffic congestion at bay. One solution is to make it more convenient for riders to pay their fares. The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) used sophisticated technologies to create a national system which simplifies and streamlines fare payment for riders, giving them a choice of cards which they can also use for other purposes. Insights drawn from rider data enable LTA to configure more convenient routes, schedules and fares while reducing congestion - making public transport more attractive and increasing long-term ridership.

It's high time, we need to create a perfect scenario and build a truly smarter transportation system by increasing the capacity of existing transportation networks by accurately predicting demand and better aligning capacity for both passenger and freight carriers. Design and develop an advanced traffic control systems for air, land and sea, design intelligent vehicles, aircraft and trains that act as nodes on an integrated network. Empower customers with information about their transportation choices and reduce energy use and harmful emissions, while assuring safety.

Smarter transportation solutions can drive economic vitality and improve our quality of life but our current transportation systems are insufficient to serve the needs of the 21st century. There will be a point of saturation when the possibility to expand the existing infrastructure will no longer exist. In that scenario only technology can usher the change and pave the way for smarter future. By marrying technology and innovative approach with physical transportation infrastructure, we can surely make drastic changes for a smarter future.

The author is director, Smarter Planet Solution, IBM India/South Asia.