smart cities

Bicycle Sharing System:
A bicycle sharing system is a public service in which people can pick up (borrow) bicycles from various cycle stands throughout the city and return them to the nearest bicycle stand near their destination. This allows for individuals to travel quickly from place to place for a minimum cost without having their own car or without using public transportation (which has its downsides). Thus, this method is a very sustainable and efficient way to travel for citizens and also enables them to lead active and healthy lives. Many basic bicycle sharing systems are in use in many cities worldwide (especially in Europe, where the culture is to walk orcycle than go by car) for quite some time now such as Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, etc. The aim is to further develop this service by using trackers on every bicycle for security and safety reasons. Barcelona was one of the first cities in the world to offer this service in 2007. It is called ‘El Bicing’ (pronounced ‘bee-sing’) and it is very popular in Barcelona and is the main form of transport for a lot of people. The purpose for this kind of system is to minimize the use of cars as much as possible to reduce carbon emissions.

 

Dynamic Carpooling/Car Sharing:
Carpooling applications on people’s smartphones connect drivers and passengers. Drivers on a certain route who want to profit from their journey can choose to pick up passengers wishing to go the same route. This is a sustainable method as it reduces the amount of carbon-emitting cars on the road and also earns the driver some money. One basic example of this service is world-renowned brand, ‘Uber’. It is a very efficient way to travel by reducing traffic congestion while also helping the environment.   

     

Smart Parking/Toll/Traffic & Street Lights:
Everything is connected to people’s smartphones. Using certain apps, people can locate free parking spots in an area without having to circle the area multiple times. This saves time, reduces congestion and ultimately helps the environment. People can also attach smartcards to the windshields of their cars so that they don’t have to stop to pay for toll (example: Salik, RTA, Dubai). Smart traffic lights sense traffic conditions to ensure smooth flow of traffic and efficiency. Smart street lights can save energy by lighting up only when a car is passing by and need not be on all night. They use sensors for this.
Most of these are proposed ideas and haven’t actually been implemented much yet. There is still research going on and scientists are trying to develop technology to overcome the challenges faced.

 

Electric Vehicles:
This is the probably the most essential way. Electric cars are being developed and are already in use in some places. Electric cars are cars that don’t use gas to run, but use electricity instead, taking the sustainable route. These cars can be charged via various types of power sockets. Implementing this in most cities would mean carbon emissions would go down exponentially. This is HUGELY beneficial to the environment. There is also the concept of hybrid cars. A hybrid car is a car which uses both gas and electricity to run. Hybrid vehicles are available in almost every city and their use is very common. However, cars that run just on electricity have only come into use in certain regions in a select few cities in the world, for example, the Dubai Design District or d3. One of the upcoming and renowned electric car brands is Tesla Motors. They have various models of their electric cars which are technologically advanced and sophisticated. Tesla cars are used especially in the US.

 

These are just a few solutions that can be implemented for smarter and more sustainable transportation.