Qatar is currently developing an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) solution which is arguably one of the world’s smartest ITS platforms. This will be used in managing the country’s roads networks, particularly for the upcoming 2022 Fifa World Cup, David Cronin (pictured), who manages the traffic control room at the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has said.
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Qatar-Korea ITS Roadshow which was held in Doha recently, Cronin said: “We have built a massive ITS network and recently started to develop a software solution for autonomous and connected vehicles.
We’re developing a really smart software at the moment and it’s a number of companies working together on this system. This will control all the technology on the roads and provide a Qatar app for customers to use in navigating traffic. We’re taking the best of the international platforms that are available to us, and we are fusing them together to make a solution for Qatar”.
According to Cronin, there are now local and national roads networks across Qatar where ITS technology is already being implemented. He said: “In the future, I’m talking about five or more years, what we want is we can take control when necessary, to slow a vehicle down when the driver doesn’t follow a message that we give.
We need to make sure that at all times our roads are safe. We will introduce things that people might not like, but they will be things that as a responsible roads authority, we have to put in order to properly manage Qatar’s roads”.
Cronin added that the planned Qatar app will provide users with real time traffic information about Qatar and its roads, guide motorists into the quickest ways to get to a particular location, and warn drivers about traffic incidents in specific areas.
“We’ve achieved some things already, but we have forward-looking plans. We want to support the vision that the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has, to establish continued growth for Qatar and for people to recognise Qatar as one of the world’s leading roads authorities. We want to build long-term roads strategy as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 as well as to meet the requirements for the 2022 Fifa World Cup,” Cronin added.
Talking about the preparations for the upcoming mega-sporting event, Cronin said that Fifa has earlier required Qatar to complete the country’s ITS infrastructure by 2021. He said: “It’s a Fifa requirement that we move dignitaries, referees, and teams from the hotel to the stadium within 30 minutes. And traditionally for World Cups, people will travel between cities to watch football games.
We have eight stadiums within hours drive, and sometimes we will have two football matches at the same time. So we need an ITS platform that will allow us to manage those journeys within the time limits set for Qatar”.
For the past two years, Cronin and his team have been working on building and operating a sophisticated traffic control room which will provide traffic management for the 2022 World Cup and to achieve the country’s long-term traffic goals. Cronin added:
“The development never stops. Everyone in the world has the same problem with traffic, because car ownership is increasing. But building new roads is not the solution. Managing traffic is”.
