BMA showcases smart tech to improve quality of life of commuters, city residents
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration displayed smart technologies during the BMA Expo 2023 last week and it is confident of helping improve the quality of life of city residents and making travel much more convenient.
The expo was held from Friday to Sunday at Benjakitti Park.
On Sunday, BMA deputy governor Wisanu Subsompon led reporters to visit the “good travel zone” of the expo to observe how the city administration under BMA Governor Chadchart Sittiupunt is using smart technologies to improve basic infrastructure related to roads and daily commuting.
As part of the demonstration, the BMA simulated how to move power and communications cables underground.
The expo showcased a project of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority to move its power cables underground along 230 kilometres of roads in the capital by 2027.
The expo showed the BMA’s willingness to work with the MEA and Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to provide facilities for telecom operators to place their cables underground in the same tunnels as the MEA.
The expo also showed that the BMA is in the process of changing its street lamps to LED lamps with Internet of Things communication functions.
The smart LED lamps can be controlled via a computer network of the BMA to increase light intensity and the network can alert officials when the lamps have gone off.
The smart poles would also be able detect floods on the roads and alert officials.
Wisanu said the BMA would install 5,000 smart poles by next year.
The deputy governor also displayed an auto-scaling technology that the BMA would install at major bridges around Bangkok.
He said the automatic scaler would be able to detect trucks that violate the weight limit of 25 tonnes and would alert traffic police and BMA officials.
He said the BMA would install the automatic weighing technology around the capital and would work with the Land Transport Department and Police to automatically issue tickets to fine the violating trucks.
The deputy governor said the BMA was also gathering traffic data to improve algorithms of the automatic system for controlling traffic lights at intersections.
The improved algorithm would improve traffic flows by controlling traffic lights in accordance with the number of vehicles in real time.
He said the BMA would also install more sensors at traffic lights at zebra crossings where pedestrians can press a button to turn on the red light for vehicles to stop.
Wisanu said the sensors would detect wheelchairs or aged pedestrians on the crossing and would extend the green light for them to cross the road.
To make it more convenient for bus passengers, he said, the BMA had asked the Land Transport Department to coordinate with two major bus operators – Via Bus and Thai Smile Bus – so their buses would send their locations to an app for passengers to locate the bus in real time.
Each bus would have to update its location every 15 seconds instead of every one minute now.
The BMA would display the locations of the buses on its maps at its smart bus stops in real time.
He said the BMA would increase the number of smart bus stops from 250 now to 350 by next year. The bus stops also provide free Wi-Fi access.
The expo demonstrated the BMA’s plan to improve slope access for people on wheelchairs and would provide bike stops for parking and bicycle locking facilities at various spots around the capital.
The BMA also plans to increase bike lanes to meet the demand of bicyclists, especially at tourist destinations, the deputy governor added.
“To make travelling a good experience, Bangkok residents must have good pavements to step on once they leave home. Then, they must have access to bicycle services. And there will be feeder system to connect them to the main mass transit systems,” Wisanu said.
“This will provide a seamless travel experience.”
