Make city roads smarter today!

Pravin Varaiya
Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, UC
Berkeley
Institute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong UST

Outline
Why is traffic congestion so bad
Why is road network poorly managed
How to make our roads smarter

Working population
Both % working age population and income are growing

Vehicle growth faster than income

Vehicle ownership grows twice as rapidly as income in $3,000-$10,000 per capita

range
Number of vehicles will triple by 2030
Fig Source: Joyce Dargay, Dermot Gately and Martin Sommer, 2007, Vehicle Ownership and Income Growth, Worldwide: 1960-2030
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Auto market in developing

countries

14.47% annual vehicle

growth in India
5

Strains on road network

Population spread
Rapid spatial growth and urban sprawl
Under-resourced road network
Between 1970-2000 road network increased 3x, vehicles

increased 16x

Peak-time average speed10-15 kph on main roads; 21-39 kph

on arterial roads

Why traffic congestion

+
Increasing
working
population

+
Increasing
income per
capita

+
Increasing
car
ownership

Decreasing
car prices

+
Increasing
population
spread

=
Under-resourced
road network

Fastest growing
car market in
world

Urban
traffic
congestion

Cost of poorly managed roads

Effects of Congestion
- Fuel loss at signalized intersections- Rs 995 crores per year,
Rs 80 lakhs daily @ Moti Bagh crossing
- Congestion delay costs Rs. 240 lakhs annually
- Vehicles in congestion emit nearly four times more pollution
- Autos greatest source of pollution (Delhi 66%, Mumbai 52%)
Accidents and fatalities
More than 25 accidents and 5 fatalities per day in Delhi
India has 1% of the world's cars, but 10% of traffic fatalities
5x fatalities of USA with 1/40x cars
Economic cost of accidents in Delhi is estimated to be Rs.35
lakhs per day
These costs can be reduced by better management
Source: Delhi Traffic Police Dept , Economic Survey of Delhi 2002

Why poor management

Transportation planners and engineers have many
methods (theories and tools) to make road network
efficient
These methods need comprehensive traffic data
Indias cities need urban traffic data system to
support good road network management

Urban traffic data system

Sensing, data
backhaul, data base,
applications:

Road performance
Signal control
Transit priority
Emissions reduction
Parking policy
Traveler information
Incident management
Diversion
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Conclusion
Urban auto traffic demand will grow rapidly
In absence of intelligent management the cost in
fuel, emissions, delay are excessive
Without measurement, management is blind
New (and existing) road networks should develop
urban traffic data system

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