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Achieving Energy Savings by Intelligent Transportation Systems Investments in the Context of Smart Citie

AUTHOR

The World Bank

ORGANIZATION

The World Bank

ABSTRACT

Faced with the challenge of providing adequate transport services with limited resources, cities have for several decades been investing in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ITS utilize Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to make more efficient use of existing transport infrastructure with the aim of improving transport services and reducing congestion, accidents, and air pollution. In the past two decades, with the rapid advancement of ICT and intensive advocacy from big technology vendors, the concept of “smart cities” has gained great popularity and many cities have started to undertake a more holistic approach to improving urban services using technology under smart city initiatives.

The World Bank report “China: Wuhan Integrated Transport Development Project—Learning from Best International Practice in Smart Transport and Energy Efficiency” makes policy recommendations on the major conditions under which ITS investments in the context of smart cities achieve energy savings in developing countries with lower motorization, less-developed infrastructure, less financial resources, and less institutional and technical capacity. The key recommendations are: (i) involve all public and private players in a collaborative and transparent setting; (ii) develop technical capacity to procure and monitor information services; and (iii) focus on basic infrastructure, including a coherent road network and basic traffic management measures.