Tech experts recommend digitisation to solve traffic jams in Dhaka
They hope that traffic congestion in Dhaka can be reduced by 30 to 40 percent within a very short time by digitising the process of monitoring traffic violations
Utilising technology based on the Internet of Things (IoT) can solve traffic congestion in Dhaka, said technology experts on Friday.
They made the observation while speaking at a panel discussion titled "IoT for Smart City: Bangladesh Context" at the smart city expo at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB).
The three-day expo will end on Saturday.
Speaking at the session, Director and Chief Operating Officer of DataSoft Limited M Manjur Mahmud said that fining vehicles manually creates more traffic jam in Dhaka.
"Police will try to stop cars and check papers. Sometimes they fine people for parking in the wrong place. This is now a common scenario in Dhaka," he said, adding that this can be dealt with digitally.
There is an IoT chip fitted in the licence plates and a GPS chip inside every driving licence. By measuring the speed of the vehicle through collecting data from the chips, police can easily find out who is driving beyond the speed limit, Manjur explained.
"By mapping streets of Dhaka, the authorities can check whether a vehicle is parked in a designated parking space or not. Offenders can be fined without stopping their vehicles in the middle of busy roads," he added.
Manjur hoped that traffic congestion can be reduced by 30 to 40 percent within a very short time by digitising the whole process.
"Everything is already digitised, the number plate, the driving license. So why do cops have to stop anybody and fine them?," he questioned.
Speakers opined that many other problems could be solved by properly implementing digitisation.
They also mentioned five challenges faced by IoT implementation in the country. They are lack of IoT-supportive internet connectivity, unavailability of smart home assistant appliances and compatible services, lack of power resources, lack of financial support, and a lack of IoT-skilled human resources.
"If we have a system that runs on IoT, are we also going to get enough engineers and experts who can actually run the system?," asked Arijit Chakrabarti, technology consulting partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Pvt Ltd.
