Smart cities traffic solutions to more than double revenue in four year’s time- report

May 22, 2019 | Mobile

Ten low-carbon technology solutions – including retrofitting buildings with energy-saving measures, developing sustainable energy management systems for new and existing developments, shared electric mobility and smart street infrastructure – have already hit 50 per cent of their target investment from a mix of public and private funds. Launched in 2016, Sharing Cities is a major international smart cities project addressing some of the most pressing urban challenges facing today’s cities such as energy use, low carbon transport and buildings, and harnessing data for the good of the city. The programme brings together 34 partners from across government, industry and academia – and is on course to meet its ambitious target of €500 million by 2021 as each city redoubles its focus on attracting investment into technologies they have been developing over recent years. Green technologies have led to significant change across the cities, which will continue to maintain close links in advancing research and development efforts in this area in the coming years. The initiatives has tested technologies and developed data-sharing platforms which increase the impact of these innovations. Insights from the programme will continue to inform the Mayor of London’s Recovery Programme in responding to the challenges and impacts of Covid-19, by using digital technology to turn London into a cleaner, greener and more resilient city (as established in the Mayor’s Green New Deal). Building improvements to reduce energy consumption and electric mobility schemes – such as e-bike and e-car sharing, vehicle charging points and smart parking – make up a majority of the investment across the cities, with further funding expected for developing carbon neutral neighbourhoods and building mobile apps to help people reduce energy consumption in their daily lives. By developing business models which can be scaled up and replicated across European cities, Sharing Cities has supported the growth of a new green smart infrastructure market, which is a critical step in making London a zero carbon city by 2030. In London, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is expanding the installation of low-carbon heating systems across its social housing stock. The borough has also been implementing a range of e-mobility measures to accelerate the shift from diesel to electric vehicles and encourage active travel such as cycling and walking. All six cities have demonstrated the benefits that using smart technologies and working together can have on carbon reductions, service delivery and wellbeing. The process of moving from pilot to scale-up has been captured and published in a series of five Playbooks available for other London boroughs and cities in the UK to adopt. The playbooks have been designed to help councils considering using smart technology to deliver better services, covering a range of topics from improving urban mobility to engaging communities in sustainable lifestyles. London’s Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell, said: "London is working closely with European cities to build workable business models for smart technologies. We've shown that these technologies are a growing part of the green transition, a top priority for cities and governments across the world as they plan the recovery of our economies. “London is proud to be a global test-bed for the kinds of partnerships and innovations which are attractive to investors, scalable and designed to meet people’s needs." The Investment has come from a mix of public and private funds across all six cities, including city, regional or national government funds, as well as grants from other organisation including the European Union, and public-private partnerships.
Smart city traffic technology solutions deployed to ease chronic congestion in cities will generate $4.4 billion in revenue in 2023, up from $2 billion in 2019, according to new research.

The analysis, by Juniper Research has found that North America alongside Far East & China as major investment regions; driven by strong prevalence for technology deployment over policy-driven solutions to lower traffic congestion.

These solutions typically use sensors in combination with machine learning software algorithms to dynamically alter traffic light phasing according to traffic levels; smoothing urban traffic flows.

The Smart Cities: Leading Platforms, Segment Analysis & Forecasts 2019-2023 report found that these technology-driven traffic solutions, which lower the emissions footprint of cities, will save the equivalent of over 780 billion passenger vehicle miles’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions over the forecast period.

For more insights, download the free whitepaper: The Future of Lighting & Urban Mobility in Smart Cities.

Barcelona Ranks #1 for Traffic Innovation Impact

Juniper examined the impact of city traffic innovation on citizens in terms of policy and investment direction, technology impact, agency cohesion and traffic management impact on city air quality. In this context, the leading cities across the globe are:

  1. Barcelona
  2. San Francisco
  3. Singapore
  4. London
  5. Portland, OR

Juniper found that Barcelona leads the rankings on account of its investment into smart traffic solutions, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and policy, aimed at improving air quality and lowering private vehicle use. While San Francisco shows strong policy and innovation, the lack of regulation in regard to ride-hailing services has damaged its overall performance.

Opportunity Knocks for Ride-hailing Companies

The research found that while ride-hailing services are widely blamed for increased congestion, these same companies have an opportunity to capitalise on the road towards future MaaS (Mobility-as-Service) deployments. “Entities such as Didi capture vast amounts of data in regard to congestion, traffic and passenger flows”, explained research author Steffen Sorrell. “Analysis of this data will be fundamentally useful in optimising the MaaS travelling salesman problem, and provides an opportunity for smart city data monetisation.”

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

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