In a recent article on the Boston Globe, we discovered how some of the biggest business are transforming their ways in an effort to become “smart” using smart technology apps.
“They’re rolling out sensors for everything from street lights to trash cans. Homes are being wired up with smart meters and smart appliances that feed real-time data back to public utilities. Buses, cars, and bike-shares have GPS or radio-frequency identification that helps to alert users of when the next bus will arrive, as well as matching car and bike-share users to a the nearest Zipcar or Hubway bike.”
Boston Traffic App
While the author discusses that there may be something wrong with simply assuming there is always an “app for that,” it’s been demonstrated by Boston’s partnership with the Google-owned traffic app called Waze how technology can solve urban transportation problems. This partnership provided real-time traffic conditions to almost half a million Boston-based users during 2015 Super Bowl parade, undoubtedly repairing many problems before they arose.
The Problem?
Is adding a consumer app resource a real problem-solver when it comes to infrastructure and transportation? The author of the article thinks not:
“It merely represents a Band Aid slapped over a problem that still requires brave new political thinking and much-needed infrastructure investment.”
In addition to using smart technology, there needs to be a greater strategy involved that is specifically designed to reduce the volume of cars in a jam-packed city like Boston, which is exactly where we see car share and other shared mobility programs coming to the rescue.
Where Smart Technology Works
We’ve seen smart technology revolutionize the care share and shared mobility industry as a whole, with seamless customer experiences benchmarked on enhanced GPS systems and the ability to access vehicles with a smartphone. There are also a slew of other aspects of urban living where smart technology reigns as supreme.
“Smart technology can indeed help cities provide integrated public transport ticketing, with seamless transitions across train, bus, bicycle or car share. It can enable smart payments for people receiving public benefits, more effective management of parking spaces, and more efficient bike-share schemes. We could learn from Copenhagen and Amsterdam, cities that have reconfigured traffic patterns to allow for unfettered flow of bikes along streets and through intersections.”
When smart technology is accepted as an ideology and the backbones are there to support shared mobility and a greater ease of transportation for consumers, Boston – along with countless other congested cities – are due for a transformation for the better.
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