Cisco Targets Big City Transportation

Cisco’s CEO John Chambers spoke this week at the first Connected Urban Development (CUD) Global Conference and encouraged industry and government to work together to come up with smart transportation systems that will conserve energy and provide urban dwellers with more tech-savvy services.

CUD is a public-private group that aims to develop replicable information and communications technology (ICT) systems for cities around the world. Cisco is pitching its networking products as green tools that can help big cities control their energy usage even as their populations swell. According to U.N. Habitat, the world's 20 mega-cities, each with a population exceeding 10 million, are responsible for 75 percent of the world's energy consumption.

The three founding CUD cities are San Francisco; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Seoul, South Korea. All three have already installed, or plan to install, a next-generation broadband infrastructure to contend with traffic congestion. Cisco’s consulting arm, the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), is helping each city implement a best practices plan to deal with smart transportation and alternative work arrangements. Some of the programs already in motion include:

• “The Connected Bus,” is a landmark prototype that was developed by Cisco and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) to demonstrate an innovative way to make public transportation more green. The hybrid bus has a mobile hot spot that allows citizens to work while they ride; a Global Positioning System gives commuters updated status of bus routes and connections; LED displays provide information on emissions saved through public transit; and an automated system reduces the environmental impact of the bus through better maintenance. If deployed broadly throughout transit systems, the Connected Bus can significantly reduce carbon emissions in cities around the world.

• “Personal Travel Assistant (PTA),” is a pioneering service being developed by Cisco with input from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Currently being considered by the city of Seoul for pilot testing, PTA improves the transit experience within urban environments by empowering citizens to make more informed decisions on day-to-day transportation options based on schedule, financial and environmental implications. Accessible from any Web-based interface such as a mobile phone, PTA is the first service of its kind that provides green route options, integrates with other communication needs such as calendaring, and enables city agencies to predict and manage evolving citizen transportation needs more effectively.

• “Smart Work Centers,” an approach developed by Cisco and embraced by the city of Amsterdam, enables local residents to work in remote stations without having to travel into the heart of the city. The Smart Work Center concept is based on a combination of technology and services that deliver a true connected neighborhood experience: the innovative use of convergent video-voice-data technology solutions; the availability of onsite services such as child care centers, dining and banking; open public and exposition spaces; and flexible desk seating and meeting rooms

Cisco will also be working with Birmingham, England, Hamburg, Germany, Lisbon, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain to implement similar best practices programs.

Anyone who has ever lived in a major city knows that most public transit systems are riddled with inefficiencies and service issues, and the rising price of energy will only exacerbate these problems. It’s good to see a commitment from one of the biggest players in the tech industry to help solve some of these problems.