 |
| |
Advancing GCC Mobility Through ITS | |
| Sumita Pawar |
When it comes to smart mobility in the Middle East, a new study finds that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are at the forefront.
To help ensure the success of their smart city projects, the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have commissioned a report titled "Smart Mobility in the GCC: Fast Track to the Future," which was just published by Strategy& (Middle East), a member firm of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network.
The paper suggests that the GCC may benefit from a more sustainable and efficient transport network if it adopted smart-mobility services based on cutting-edge digital technologies.
According to Mark Haddad, principal of Strategy& (Middle East), urbanisation in Saudi Arabia's major cities is causing standard issues such as increasing demand for transport services, traffic congestion, and severe environmental repercussions.
 |
Saudi NEOM
Plans to build the world's most user-centric, ecologically friendly, and technologically advanced land mobility ecosystem are in the works at Saudi Arabia's NEOM smart megacity project.
NEOM's goal is to promote active, autonomous, electric, shared, and smart mobility solutions in addition to creating a new paradigm for urban sustainability run on 100 percent renewable energy.
On-demand urban passenger mobility will be provided via shared autonomous and electric shuttles, urban air mobility, and a high-speed underground transit system. NEOM's goal is to be the world's first zero-carbon region, which is why it has no automobiles and few traditional roadways.
The project also intends to install a smart water distribution network, which, according to NEOM, will reduce water loss to below 3 percent, as opposed to the 30 to 60 percent seen in cities all over the world due to ageing infrastructure prone to leaks that go unnoticed.
In other parts of the kingdom, intelligent mobility is also progressing. Both a multibillion-dollar public transit project featuring driverless trains and an AI-based adaptive signalling technology are currently under construction in the Saudi city of Riyadh.
 |
Saudi Arabia, As A Kingdom, Is Undergoing Fast Change
The smart-mobility ecosystem in the Kingdom, according to Haddad, is developing quickly. Smarter traffic-management systems improved public transportation, and, most crucially, the investigation of potential new modes of transportation are all receiving increased funding.
Haddad points to the Kingdom's interest in the hyperloop, the most talked-about new mode of public transportation, as proof of this shift.
"The Kingdom has already engaged in strategic partnerships with hyperloop technology players," he said, citing Virgin Hyperloop's partnership with the Economic Cities Authority of Saudi Arabia as an example.
The consortium plans to study and create a hyperloop manufacturing factory and a research and development centre, with the longest test and certification track in mind (35 km).
Haddad explained that the aim is to make Saudi Arabia a go-to example for the rest of the GCC on the topic of mobility in the future.
According to the report Smart Mobility in the GCC: Fast Track to the Future, there will be widespread benefits from implementing smart mobility across the GCC.
There will be fewer deaths and injuries on the roads if we automate vehicle operations and equip vehicles with improved safety technology.
Smart mobility's ability to move vehicles and people more efficiently across existing route networks also means less traffic congestion.
According to the paper, "it can also provide people with alternative options such as shared rides, scooters, bicycles, or mass transit," which can cut down on journey times.
By giving passengers and transit agencies access to greener transportation options, smart mobility has the potential to reduce the transportation sector's negative impact on the environment.
The paper also predicts a more efficient workforce as a result of the reinvention of mobility, which would allow some households to relocate closer to urban areas and get rid of their own vehicles, thereby expanding their access to better job opportunities.
According to the paper, "others that choose to move farther away from urban centres can do so" because "travel times decrease" and "commuters can be productive while travelling" thanks to autonomous vehicles and other transit options.
The report features, among other things, Dubai's plan to implement smart vehicles by 2030, with the goal of shifting 25% of all trips to driverless choices.
 |
Egypt’s Smarter Solutions
Egypt, which now has a population of over 109 million people and is expected to continue increasing at this rate, aims to construct 15 new fourth-generation cities over the next few years to meet the needs of its rising population, attract investment and new jobs, and relieve urban congestion.
To keep up with the difficulties of climate change, the urban projects known as "fourth-generation cities" have integrated cutting-edge infrastructure and ICT.
The new capital being built near Cairo will contain an estimated 6.5 million people and is being designed as a "smart city," complete with infrastructure to monitor traffic and buildings that automatically determine the most efficient methods to conserve energy.
The environmental pressures increase as the population and the amount of goods consumed increase. Smart financiers are waking up to the fact that smart technologies are going to be essential for the cities of the future to battle global warming and make increasingly crowded metropolitan areas more liveable.