Page 48 - U4SSC Simple ways to be smart

Public transport can also be enhanced by providing Wi-Fi at stations or in the vehicles, by integrated
ticketing solutions that simplify payment, and by integrating assistive technologies for hearing and
visually impaired people, such as voice instructions at a ticket vending machine.

The use of private cars in cities creates congestion and pollution. It also makes for a poor city
experience. In the United States, some 73 percent of the metropolitan workforce spent more than
90 minutes commuting to work, while an estimated 30 percent of traffic in urban areas is caused
by cars looking for parking. While many cities, particularly in Europe, are actively planning to
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reduce the use of private cars, the reality is that private cars will continue to play a role in cities
in the near future, because of their convenience. Smart interventions can, however, help cities to
manage the impact.

The European Union’s Empower initiative looks to change the ways in which people move around
cities by helping cities to make changes that encourage the use of active transport, shared transport
(such as taxis) and public transport. They have developed tools to help cities to design business
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models to reduce private car usage and incentive plans that motivate behaviour changes. They
have also developed a range of apps that cities can use to support these plans.

One of the challenges with private car ownership is that most cars stand idle for much of the time.
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In some cities it has been estimated that up to a third of city real estate is devoted to parking. While
drivers struggle to find parking, lot owners report underutilization, excess capacity, and lost revenue.
Smart solutions can assist in optimising the use of existing parking space by directing drivers to
vacant spaces using apps that show pricing, distance, popularity, and number of remaining spaces.
For cities and private companies that operate parking lots, smart solutions can be used to improve
revenue collection through the use of license plate recognition, e-ticketing, and the automated
recording of parking time. Smart parking solutions are widely deployed, with their complexity and
ease of deployment depending on the features that are used. Such smart interventions can be
useful for cities wanting to decrease the use of cars as they can help cities to pass on the full cost
of car ownership to drivers, ensuring that cities are not subsidising private car ownership. Parking
revenues can also be used to support initiatives that encourage behaviour change.

36 U4SSC: Simple ways to be smart