Iran (IMNA) - In an extensive interview with IMNA, Abolfazl Ghorbani, Head of the Smartification and Transportation Commission of the Isfahan City Council, detailed the city’s dual strategy: a major investment in infrastructure and the widespread integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital systems. "Isfahan's high volume of traffic exerts serious pressure on urban infrastructure," Ghorbani explained. "The solution requires both expanding our public transit fleet and fundamentally shifting to smart, data-driven management."
The core of Isfahan’s strategy is its sophisticated Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The city has deployed nearly 900 intelligent cameras across key intersections and roadways, moving traffic control away from manual management. These cameras—which include systems for speed control, violation enforcement, and real-time guidance—feed live data to the Traffic Control Center. Ghorbani confirmed that the majority of traffic light timing, congestion alerts, and flow management are now handled by AI algorithms and analytical software, ensuring greater precision and quicker response times than human operators. The city has also addressed a major historical pain point by equipping critical intersections with emergency power systems, ensuring traffic lights remain operational even during city-wide outages.
While smart systems control the roads, technology is simultaneously overhauling the user experience for public transportation. The city currently operates roughly 900 buses daily and aims to boost this number to 1,200 to improve route coverage and reduce wait times. Crucially, the entire fleet is being digitized: Every bus is equipped with an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system, which transmits the vehicle’s exact location to a central hub in real-time. Citizens can use the"Isfahan Man" mobile application to track the AVL data, allowing them to view real-time bus locations, predict arrival times, and pay their fares digitally via QR code, eliminating the need for physical tickets.
With its existing Metro Line One already carrying over 100,000 passengers daily, the city is focused on accelerating the launch of Phase One of Metro Line Two. Ghorbani reported that most civil construction—including tunnel excavation and rail installation—is complete, with the main obstacle being the timely import and procurement of new, advanced metro wagons. The target remains an experimental launch in the first half of the current year.
Looking ahead, Isfahan is making moves to solidify its status as a sustainable smart city. The city has begun piloting Electric Taxis as part of a significant plan to modernize the taxi fleet. This initiative is designed to increase passenger capacity while dramatically cutting down on urban air pollution. Future plans involve leveraging Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) to develop advanced traffic prediction models and fully integrate all urban vehicles into a unified, intelligent network. "All these steps—from the 900 cameras to the electric taxis—show a concerted effort to build a new infrastructure for urban mobility," Ghorbani said, projecting Isfahan to become a national leader in sustainable, digital transportation in the coming years.
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