The partnership aims to improve road safety and reduce traffic congestion, by delivering models that better optimize traffic light timings. This move is said to expand to Kolkata and Hyderabad soon. Their partnership also provides information on how to avoid road closures and congestion zones.
Dr. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru said, “We are proud to partner with Google to use technology to help reduce traffic congestion and improve road safety for the people of Bengaluru. We are the first Indian city to have started a pilot with Google to optimize the traffic light configuration in Bengaluru to reduce signal wait time for commuters. As per the data provided by Google, the revised plan by Google resulted in an average 20% wait time reduction per driver going through the pilot intersection during the day. We are excited by the positive impact this can have on reducing traffic congestion, road rage, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. This is a testimony of the transformational impact the coming together of government and technology companies like Google can have on society.”
The Environmental Insights Explorer is a free tool by Google designed to help cities and local governments measure emissions and identify reduction strategies with the help of public transport activity data. The collaboration with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) aims to help people in India make more informed travel decisions by equipping them with authoritative air quality information. People can access this information overlay by tapping the ‘Layers’ button at the top right in their Maps app and selecting the ‘Air Quality’ option.
