INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT DESIGNS NEED TO BE PEOPLE-CENTRIC

Optimising traffic flows and improving access to multimodal transport are two key elements in smart mobility solutions. To achieve meaningful integration, however, they must be practical and affordable. Alastair Currie speaks to Mike van Tonder (MvT), Expertise Leader: Transport Planning and Intelligent Transport Systems at Zutari, about trends and developments.

How would you define smart mobility?

MvT Smart mobility is an all-encompassing description of new or improved ways of moving people and goods around. It can mean new technologies that improve the efficiency of mobility or access, as well as the use of new modes of mobility that have not previously been used, such as drone taxis, robotic deliveries, e-scooters and e-bikes.

From our experience, each country also has a unique definition of smart mobility depending on what stage the country is at in its smart city development journey. We have seen this on projects that Zutari has worked on in diverse cities from Durban to Dubai. For example, cities like Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Seoul and Singapore have very mature world-class transport infrastructure, and they have the resources to invest extensively in smart city technologies that enable smart mobility.

Smart mobility is not just about mobility technology; it is about accessibility to mobility, the efficiency of mobility, mobility integration, sustainability, costeffectiveness and quality of the journey. A prime example is bus rapid transit (BRT), which has been successful in countries like Colombia and Brazil and is being rolled out in several cities in South Africa.

Local examples where Zutari is or has been involved in BRT projects include MyCiti in Cape Town, GO!Durban and GO GEORGE. The latter is not a pure BRT system, but rather an integrated public transit network (IPTN) that does not have its own right-of-way (lanes); it is an integrated service that works on the same principle. The differentiator for BRT networks is that they are much cheaper than a rail network, but can still provide high-capacity transit to a point.

In South Africa, the IPTN and integrated rapid public transit network (IRPTN) systems also have integrated fare management systems that use an

EMV-compliant tap-on/tap-off smart card to improve the experience of the journey.

Other intelligent transport systems (ITSs) typically used in BRT networks include advanced public transport management systems (APTM, CCTV and automated incident detection systems), passenger information systems like apps and websites, and fault management systems. More advanced BRTs also have journey planning systems.

An important success factor for BRTs in South Africa is that the minibus taxi industry needs to be incorporated into the integrated BRT system in one form or another. The minibus taxi industry transports millions of passengers every single day in South Africa, and they need to be part of any integrated solution. The role of the industry can vary from being part of the BRT operator to other service providers to the system – like station and bus maintenance – to providing feeder transport services to the main line trunk route. It is, however, imperative that they are involved.

In order to achieve this full integration of the BRT, and if minibus taxis are to be used as part of the solution, then the minibus taxi industry needs to migrate to a digital environment. They need to move from a cash-based fare payment system to a tap-and-go, card-based payment system, incorporate CCTV cameras in the ranks and vehicles, and implement elements like real-time vehicle tracking (GPS location), and eventually move to some form of scheduling. The industry has already started this digital transformation, with some associations installing CCTV cameras in their vehicles and owners actively tracking their vehicles. Many cities are also assisting the industry by introducing CCTV cameras, number plate recognition technology at ranks, and incentives for improved driver behaviour.

What are some of the key smart mobility trends worldwide?

Some of the key trends globally include connected and autonomous vehicles. In Africa, at present, we’re mainly seeing this trend in closed or controlled environments, like a railway system, port environment or a mine environment, where the general public does not have uncontrolled access. In my view, South Africa is still a long way off in terms of general public or private user applications of autonomous vehicles. However, in developed regions in Europe, Asia and the USA, adoption is already well advanced.

Other key trends include artificial intelligence, natural language processing, big data and machine learning. These are able to provide predictive information about a transport system or service where commuters can make informed decisions about an upcoming journey. Using this information from artificial intelligence, a commuter can choose, for example, the fastest, cheapest or most comfortable trip.

Then there’s mobility as a service (MaaS). Examples include e-hailing like Uber in South Africa and e-scooter and e-bike hire in other countries – taking this a step further is shared mobility, which is becoming popular in regions like Europe. Here, an e-hailing vehicle can be booked and shared by several passengers from an area, heading in the same or a similar direction.

Another very popular development internationally is the introduction of single account-based payment services to enable passengers to plan, book and pay for multiple types of mobility services for single journeys, only paying once. For example, a traveller could hire an e-scooter from home to the train station (first mile), then travel to the airport by train, fly to the arrival destination, catch a bus at the arrival destination to the city centre, and from there hire an e-bike to the final destination (last mile), using one booking platform.

Another very popular trend internationally is the user-pays principle, used by governments to manage or influence travel and transportation. An example would be making city centre parking premium priced at peak times to discourage private car usage during these periods. Variable toll road systems are another example for transport demand management.

There is a definite move towards delivering customer-centric mobility services. Increasingly, engineers and planners are no longer dictating what type of transport services they need to provide but are using what the customer wants to plan and design for transportation services and infrastructure. Customer satisfaction is vital to achieve optimal results for any smart mobility solution. These days, if a customer doesn’t like a particular transport service or infrastructure, they will not use it because they have other options.

How do smart mobility and smart city concepts best interconnect?

Unless it’s a greenfield development built from scratch, the reality is that smart city evolution begins with the progressive phasing in of smart technologies one step at a time. Traditionally, mobility and smart transport has always been the starting point. However, other sectors like energy and water are rapidly catching up with the transition to smart control, metering and payment services.

We are also seeing apps take on far greater prominence in terms of infrastructure management. A prime example is Joburg’s pothole repair app where Discovery Insure, in partnership with Dialdirect and the City of Johannesburg, has launched a metrobased initiative spearheaded by their Pothole Patrol programme.

Then from a traffic management perspective, Sanral has freeway management systems (FMSs) operating in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, and is busy rolling out a similar system in the Eastern Cape. These are all monitored and managed from a central traffic management centre (TMC) and include maintenance and operations of the systems. Within the metros, where Sanral networks interconnect with the provincial and municipal road network, local TMCs are either integrated with Sanral’s or are incorporated into the TMC. In Cape Town’s case, for instance, some 150 km of Sanral’s freeway are co-managed with the city and monitored by an extensive CCTV system that reports real-time data.

Zutari, as part of the Tolcon consortium, is currently working on Sanral’s FMS in Gauteng, where we are rolling out additional CCTV cameras and planning to upgrade existing variable messaging signs. A new state-of-theart video wall has also just been installed at the N1 TMC in Samrand.

What type of ICT infrastructure is required now and in the future?

Fibre and 5G cellular communication are the backbone for any ITS. In South Africa, the private sector has been very proactive in implementing fibre and cellular networks nationally, and our communications infrastructure is on a par with the best. So, the network is in place, along with the rapid expansion of the data centre industry, to support cloud-based computing.

Implementation, though, depends on government priorities, especially given South Africa’s triple challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty. Any ITS implementation by government needs to be balanced against other needs.

Can we use smart mobility to lower our carbon footprint?

Yes, because it is an opportunity to bring so many factors into play. We know that new conventional diesel and fossil fuel combustion engines will be with us until at least 2035 in the UK and Europe in terms of their cut-off targets. Thereafter, only used derivatives will be available, and no new ‘fossil fuel’ powered engines sold.

Going forward, electric vehicles will be the norm and clients recognise this. Our current work for the University of Cape Town is a case in point, where the plan is to transition the student bus fleet to EVs in the future.

Thanks to South African companies like GridCars, which is investing in national charging stations, EVs are much closer today to becoming one of the mainstream power solutions for private and commercial transport. At present, the debate internationally is about which charging option works best. Some argue for battery swop-outs (like China), which makes a lot of sense on a longer trip – say from Cape Town to Johannesburg – but it would appear that charging infrastructure at key locations is more common. Also, imagine a scenario where our minibus taxis are all EVs. It seems incredible now, but it is more likely than you think.

The major turning point will come when EVs start to be manufactured in South Africa. At present, all EVs that have to be imported attract massive import duties. That has to change, with South Africa’s automotive sector leading the charge and government becoming the enabler for cheaper EVs.

In South Africa, e-scooters could immediately change the landscape for urban commuters by introducing a clean and very affordable mode of transport. The use of e-scooters in cities like Dubai is becoming very popular for firstand last-mile trips, so why not here in South Africa where we are already seeing e-trikes being used by supermarkets for neighbourhood grocery deliveries?

And in closing?

In the past, many countries, especially developing ones, felt that the cost of smart mobility and smart city implementation was just too expensive. However, the cost of ICT technology is steadily coming down, which is definitely helping to promote wider adoption, because the socio-economic benefits are significant.