Juniper Research emphasised the importance of deploying traffic analysis and systems at the earliest stage of city planning to avoid costly retrofits at a later point given the nature and impact of traffic flow on a city’s infrastructure.

“Cities need to avoid solutions that will likely become obsolete quickly, or result in vendor lock-in. By opening their process to a wide pool of vendors and developers, cities will encourage innovation and interest from a variety of stakeholders, partners, and developers,” Juniper Research author Cara Malone advised.

The research urges vendors to consider developing customised smart traffic management systems for cities in emerging regions to reduce congestion.

Smart traffic management reduces congestion. Juniper Research forecasts savings of seven billion hours through smart traffic management solutions globally by 2028, with developed regions making up 75% of this.

Juniper Research however warned the concerns surrounding the implementation of these solutions.

“Driving rules and regulations in developing regions can be very different, with the level of technological infrastructure also not being equivalent. As such, vendors must create scalable solutions that can be customised for local circumstances,” it cautioned.