Han Ximin ximhan@126.com A DATA-BASED transportation service platform will be built to offer multiple commuting solutions to local residents by allowing them to choose the most economic and time-saving means of transportation, or combination of transportation means. This service will help commuters plan their commute and avoid congestion, and thus improve the city’s traffic situation on the whole. In the latest move to build a smart transportation city, Shenzhen transport commission and Shenzhen Bus Group signed a package of agreements Thursday with Didi Chuxing, the largest app-based vehicle service provider, to build the data-based service platform. Based on the platform, which will be operated by Shenzhen Youdian Technology Co. — a joint venture between Didi, Shenzhen Bus Group and Shenzhen Institute of Beidou Applied Technology, a subsidiary of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technologies of Chinese Academy Sciences — bus riders will save time they would have spent waiting for buses as the platform will be able to precisely predict the arrival time of buses through the bus information of Shenzhen Bus Group. The platform will offer a real-time bus service inquiry service, data-based intelligent bus dispatching service and customized bus services including inter-city bus services. “The cooperation will make full use of the advantages of Didi’s platform and the bus operation resources of Shenzhen Bus Group to offer a precise service to riders. This will improve the bus efficiency,” Wang Huinong, general manager of Shenzhen Bus Group, said in an interview Thursday. Wang thought it was a chance for Shenzhen Bus Group to transform and upgrade the industry and provide efficient and competitive services by sharing Didi’s technology. “Based on the commuter data shared by Didi company and Shenzhen transport commission, and by analyzing their commuting habits, public transport service providers, including buses and cabs, can optimize their routes and efficiently deploy their vehicles,” Fan Jianping, president of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technologies of Chinese Academy Sciences, said in an interview. “Data-based smart transportation is crucial for a metropolis like Shenzhen, where there is limited space and residents working downtown while living on outskirts because of the high downtown housing prices,” added Fan. In a broader sense, the data will help decision makers improve the city’s road network. For example, they will know where it will be the best to build a foot bridge, to expand a road or build a new road. |