Smart Transportation Requires Integration of New-Generation Information Technologies Such as IoT

The recent session of the National People's Congress has concluded successfully. A total of 223 proposals were submitted by representatives at this session, of which over 30 were related to transportation and road construction, setting a new record. For Beijing, traffic congestion has become commonplace, and during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, cities such as Xiamen, Chengdu, Jinan, and Shanxi also turned into congested cities. The number of congested cities in China is increasing, with the trend spreading from first-tier cities to second- and third-tier cities.

China's automobile production and sales volume have ranked first in the world. It is often said that too many cars in China have led to the widespread phenomenon of congested cities. However, looking at major cities worldwide such as Tokyo, where car ownership exceeds 8 million vehicles, and New York with even more, such severe congestion as seen in Chinese cities does not occur. To address urban traffic problems, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and the recently popular Internet of Vehicles are undoubtedly the most effective solutions.

In the 1980s, developed countries around the world invested heavily in the research and development of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and have since achieved remarkable results. Take the traffic conditions in Tokyo, Japan, for example. If you drive on the streets of Tokyo, even as a novice, you can quickly become familiar with the road conditions and, through the red and green information display boards above intersections, learn at any time the travel time from point A to point B, running speed, congestion length, and more. Through in-vehicle broadcasts and roadside broadcasts, you can obtain information on various intersections. If an in-vehicle terminal is installed, this information is automatically converted into text. Drivers can also use their mobile phones to learn about traffic jams, traffic accidents, vehicle access restrictions, traffic control times, and other information on major roads. Such an effective Intelligent Transportation System has been widely adopted by countries around the world.

China's Intelligent Transportation has a history of more than ten years, yet the phenomenon of congested cities remains severe and is even intensifying. What is the reason? Government investment in the transportation sector has increased year by year, but it has made the congestion situation "unbearable to behold." Since the Olympic Games, Beijing has implemented the odd-even license plate restriction policy, which was initially effective. However, with the annual increase in car ownership in Beijing, the odd-even restriction can no longer prevent traffic congestion. Recently, a license plate lottery policy was introduced to limit the growth rate of urban car ownership, but this undoubtedly deviates from people's pursuit of the "car and house" ideal life. To achieve smooth and unobstructed urban traffic, Intelligent Transportation and the Internet of Vehicles are the most effective solutions.

There are numerous enterprises engaged in Intelligent Transportation in China, including major companies such as IBM, Renesas, Datang, Invengo, Newland, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei, and ZTE. Each enterprise has launched its own Intelligent Transportation solutions based on its strengths. There are also enterprises focused specifically on the Intelligent Transportation industry, such as eHualu, Nanjing LES, and Beijing Stone. The coverage of Intelligent Transportation is expanding.

However, there are still many deficiencies in China's Intelligent Transportation construction, and the phenomenon of congested cities is a major manifestation. Looking at the Intelligent Transportation solutions of various enterprises, the subsystems of Intelligent Transportation are relatively independent. Intelligent Transportation systems require proper top-level design and a holistic city-wide Intelligent Transportation overall solution. It is necessary to strengthen the coordination capabilities among subsystems to achieve effective integration, enable information sharing and processing, and realize comprehensive traffic management and control. In addition, with the development of IoT and Internet of Vehicles applications, new opportunities have emerged for the development of Intelligent Transportation. The development of cloud computing has also made the analysis and processing of massive information simpler. Integrating advanced information technologies such as IoT, the Internet of Vehicles, and cloud computing into Intelligent Transportation systems will undoubtedly bring leapfrog development.

Zhen Aiwu, Executive Vice President of Beijing eHualu Information Technology Co., Ltd., stated that in the past few years, Intelligent Transportation infrastructure has been built to a certain level. In the next stage, the new-generation Intelligent Transportation system should be based on the IoT and the Internet of Vehicles, enabling vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-road interaction, and interaction among vehicles, roads, and the management and control center.

In the coming years, the market demand for China's Intelligent Transportation management systems will continue to grow. Currently, there are 319 cities in China with a non-agricultural population of over 200,000. The average investment for establishing a traffic command center is approximately 60 million yuan. If cities with a population of over 200,000 all build relatively complete command centers within 10 years, the investment would amount to approximately 19 billion yuan, bringing excellent development opportunities to related enterprises.

Meanwhile, megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou need to invest substantial funds in the planning and construction of urban expressway loop and arterial road traffic monitoring and guidance systems. The estimated market demand for urban road monitoring is approximately 15-20 billion yuan. Considering other Intelligent Transportation management projects and the informatization construction investment of some small and medium-sized cities, a conservative estimate puts the market size of Intelligent Transportation management systems at approximately 45 billion yuan over the next 10 years. The development prospects of Intelligent Transportation are limitless.