Mexico City is the fifth most inhabited city in the world and, according to the United Nations (UN), the city with the highest percentage of traffic congestion. We are far from being a smart city or smart city. I’m not surprised that Mexicans spend an average of 432 hours a year in traffic — the equivalent of 18 days — according to a study conducted by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO). If we bring together all the users of public transport, just because they are stopped in traffic, they lose 69,000 million pesos a year in productivity; for those who use a car, the figure is 25,000 million pesos per year. I do not like to drive and I do not have a car, not only because of appointments for vehicular procedures, but it is a much more complex issue called mobility.
When I speak of mobility, I mean the ease with which people travel to meet their needs, taking into account all that this implies. The only thing that could solve mobility problems in Mexico would be to transform its cities into smart spaces.
In Mexico, according to Inegi, there are more than 50 million cars in circulation. Mobility is one of the main beneficiaries of modern information technology platforms and with the analysis of large volumes of data. Connectivity in cars and access to information in real time allows us to use transport systems more efficiently.
In 2019, semiconductors accounted for just 4% of a premium vehicle’s BOM; It is expected that by 2025, 12% of the bill of materials will be chips, reaching 20% by 2030. Smart mobility or smart mobility it is transforming the way we move through cities. The benefits of using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) are combined for the exchange of data between users, vehicles, infrastructure and service platforms. For example, there is less traffic thanks to mobility applications that use data to provide information to users.
As we connect our devices and begin to harness data, we discover the capabilities of smart cities. For example, Moovit, this application helps you plan your route -from point A to point B- easier and faster. Thanks to data and artificial intelligence, it mixes all the mobility options of your city, in real time – bus times, subways, bicycle locations, walking times, among others – so that you get to your destination in the fastest way possible.
What makes a city smart is technology. All technology depends on a brain to function and that brain is a semiconductor or chip. Smart cities are made up of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to develop, implement, promote sustainable development and address the challenges of urbanization. In these types of cities, IoT applications – based on the cloud – receive, store, analyze and move data in real time to help governments, companies and citizens make better decisions that improve their quality of life.
According to the World Bank, around 55% of people live in cities and the urban population is expected to double by 2050: 7 out of 10 people will live in urban areas. Currently, 80% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in cities, and cities are responsible for two-thirds of global energy consumption and more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. We need smart cities. URGENT.
Smart cities have better energy distribution, optimize garbage collection, avoid and reduce traffic and even improve the quality of the environment. And no, it is not enough that some of us citizens have smartphones, mobile devices, autonomous vehicles or connected homes. For a city to be smart, digitization and city technology must help governments provide public services such as electricity, clean water, heating and cooling; as well as electric mobility infrastructures for vehicles and an efficient public transport system, automation for factories, buildings and high-speed broadband networks, such as 5G.
People complain about traffic, accepting that it is just collateral damage from living in the city. IT IS NOT NORMAL. Doing 2 hours at your work when it is 10km from your home does not make sense. Can you imagine a city where the traffic lights are coordinated? A city where public transport is efficient enough that you don’t need a car? What would you do in the 432 hours you spend in traffic per year? For Mexico to have more smart cities, we must prioritize investment in technology.
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Quelle/Source: Market Research Telecast, 14.12.2021
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