Is the Middle East ready for ITS?

Train tracks and road infrastructure are being built all across the region, the latest technologies are being talked about and grand designs are going ahead.  But one thing I have been thinking about over the last three weeks is, is it realistic to roll this out all in one go?

Yes, the state of the art machinery is here, the world’s most talented engineers have been recruited and the master plans are being put into action.  The Middle East doesn’t have experience on its side, nor does it have enough of the local expertise to run an internal operation. 

The task ahead is certainly ambitious, but it is definitely not unachievable.

What the Middle East lacks in experience is perhaps gained in its youth.  The Middle East transport authority has a blank canvas, after all only 40 years ago virtually all transport infrastructure was non-existent.

Equally the Middle East avoids the problem of having to integrate legacy systems, overcome compatibility issues and issues of the ‘un-upgradable’ .  The Middle East has the unique advantage of being able to deploy both the transport service and the intelligent system in the same instance. 

This should mean that the Middle East is able to deliver the perfect public transport system, give passengers seamlessly integrated journey options that are payable in one clean payment.  Congestion will be mitigated before it becomes an overbearing force that stifles urban growth and city flow. So the benefits of this dual deployment are, indeed,  plain to see in theory.

The challenges ahead are by no means small, but the possibility for growth and slick deployment is there.  Start planning now and the Middle East will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the world in terms of streamlined transport services before we know it.