As urban areas around the world are getting more and more congested, it is inevitable to see cities become trap in traffic congestion.
As a result, more accidents happen, air quality will dramatically worsen, noise pollution occurs constantly, the society will face with long hour traffic jams and a longer commute time.
Traffic congestion is the result high population in large cities with the growth of number of vehicles.
Despite the alternative transportation options such as public transit and carpooling, it is still a major problem to big cities around the world.
Cities cannot eliminate traffic congestion issue overnight, but with the help of technology, there are some ‘smart’ ways it has help fight congestion in the cities.
With the help of Internet of Things (IoT), technology has help decrease traffic congestion, improve transit and build safer sidewalks and protected bike paths.
For example, it is not unusual to see smart programming and information technology (IT) being used to control traffic operations in urban areas.
Smart traffic lights can be synced to the movement of larger vehicles or respond to situations when blockage happens.
In Sarawak for instance, area such as Kuching is currently using smart traffic system, the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) to reduce traffic jams.
The technology works by gathering data on traffic flows in real time at each intersection. The data will then be fed to traffic controller to a central computer which then makes adjustments to traffic signal timings based on time changes in traffic flow at each intersection.
Apart from managing traffic, technology also helps drivers and road users in the loop by transmitting real-time traffic data.
Example of the commonly used technology to curb traffic congestion is the vehicle to everything (VX2) communication technology.
The main aim of this technology is to ensure road safety, traffic efficiency and energy savings.
VX2 communication technology includes other more specific types of communication such as V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2N (vehicle to network), V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) and V2G (vehicle to grid).
Among the most common of this technology are vehicles with built-in-traffic and navigation functions such as Google Maps or Waze or vehicles that can sync with a smartphone to play music, which falls under the V21 communication technology.
Aside from that, this technology warns driver of accidents, instruction for rerouting, and real-time which lane of freeway is the least congested.
It is the wireless exchange of data between vehicles and road infrastructure so that so drivers can take advantage of in-vehicle services like traffic updates, weather reports and media streaming.
Technology has also helped makes transportation and the citizen stay connected though data sharing.
For instance, an apps may be developed to connect data from all modes of transportation and share it with the people.
This way, it provides accurate arrival times throughout the city for both drivers and passengers waiting for public transportation or courier service.
So, in the event where there might be delays, the apps can suggest a new route or a different mode of transportation.
This then lead people with more transportation choices where their cumulative decision and action will add up to smoother traffic flows, fewer accidents, less congestion, and cleaner air.
On a side note, the data provided by the technology can also led to more innovation in the future that can help decrease traffic congestion. This data can be gathered by real time traffic feedback, pedestrian tracking system and V2X communication technology.
