Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program                                                            
Phase 2 (2006 Deadline)

Development of an ITS-Based Traffic Management Model for Metropolitan

PROGRESS REPORTS  2007 2008 2009 July 2010 Conference

Areas of Pakistan with Karachi as a Pilot Study   
 
Waheed Uddin, University of Mississippi
Mir Shabbar Ali, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi
Pakistani Funding (HEC):  $195,988
US Funding:    $94,000
Project Dates on US Side: February 1, 2007 - January 31, 2010 --
        Extended to July 16, 2010

Over the past decade, Pakistan has worked intensively to build and modernize motorways and national highways as part of the country’s overall economic development efforts. However, traffic-related fatalities are alarmingly high, and about 41 percent of all crashes involve deaths, a figure that is significantly higher than in most other countries. Frequent congestion in most urban and metropolitan areas is adversely affecting travel time, business operating costs, and air quality, and increased air pollution is affecting public health. These problems require modern solutions emphasizing efficiency and safety as the main goals of traffic management. The primary objective of this project is to strengthen the capabilities of the Pakistani partner institution, NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, for adapting modern geospatial technologies and scientific models of traffic flow and air quality. The implementation products should lead to increased transportation efficiency and safety, which can enhance economic prosperity, reduce public health costs, and benefit the people of Pakistan.

The partners conducting this project are adapting and implementing an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) framework of traffic monitoring and evaluation technologies in which various traffic flow parameters and real-time traffic data are integrated to formulate an efficient Traffic Management System (TMS). Taking the densely populated metropolitan urban city of Karachi as a case study, they are compiling a geo-referenced road network database using geographical information systems (GIS) technology. A comprehensive cost-benefit analysis methodology is being implemented to assess traffic management strategies considering savings from reduced user and societal costs. The US partner institution, the University of Mississippi, is assisting NED in adapting US ITS experience, providing training in GIS/geospatial analysis and traffic simulation models, and developing self-reliance in these technologies. The project deliverable will be an efficient GIS-based TMS to be recommended for implementation to Karachi City Traffic Officials (CDGK-EDO Transport), so the principal investigators are maintaining close contact with these authorities throughout the project. So far, there has been great interest in the outcome of the study of the part of local and regional government agencies, and a memo of understanding has been signed with the Karachi city government to share information from the traffic cameras installed by the project. Regional workshops are also being held to disseminate the methodologies and key results to other major Pakistani cities and universities.  Further benefits should include a better trained professional workforce as well as modernization of curricula at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in Pakistan.

In the first exchange visit on this project, Dr. Waheed Uddin and his colleagues at NED presented a workshop at NED June 18-21, 2007, on GIS and imagery-based geospatial analysis for transportation planning. The workshop provided training to 43 participants, including professionals from CDGK, the National Highway Authority, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s Traffic Safety Project, consulting engineers, professors, and graduate students. On July 30, 2007, a stakeholders’ meeting was held in Karachi to involve officials and planners from local transportation agencies. Following the meeting, an executive summary highlighting key findings and recommendations was released. During his six-week visit, Dr. Uddin and his colleagues also sampled data for congestion assessment not only in Karachi, the focus of their study, but also in Lahore and Islamabad. While in the latter city, Dr. Uddin presented a lecture at the National Highway Authority and visited that agency’s offices for consultations on remote sensing technologies for airborne terrain mapping to facilitate road construction in Pakistan’s mountainous northern region. He delivered additional lectures to engineers at National Engineering Services (NESPAK) headquarters and to engineering students at NED.

In February 2008 Dr. Uddin welcomed a Pakistani graduate student, Mr. Afzal Ahmed, to begin work on his master's degree at the University of Mississippi. On Dr. Uddin’s return visit to Pakistan in June-July 2008, in addition to working on the research aspects of the project and assisting in the training of NED graduate students, he and his partners presented a workshop on GIS-based decision support systems June 18 and a two-day course on geospatial analysis June 19-20, both at NED. On June 27 Dr. Uddin presented a lecture at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, and on June 28 he led a seminar on highway infrastructure design and management at the National Institute of Transportation, Risalpur. On July 2 he presented a seminar at NESPAK Lahore on enhancing traffic safety using remote sensing and GIS technologies, and on July 12 he and Dr. Ali led a full-day workshop in Karachi on air quality and the impact of global warming. On July 15-16 they conducted a workshop on traffic safety and intelligent transportation systems for Karachi traffic officials, researchers, students, and representatives of industry. 

In the third year of the project, Dr. Ali made a 2-week visit to the University of Mississippi May 31-June 15, 2009, with the costs funded by the Pakistani side of the grant. While in Oxford he worked with Dr. Uddin on various elements of their joint research, presented a lecture on the project to civil engineering faculty and students, and saw Mr. Afzal Ahmed successfully defend his master's thesis. After completing some revisions to his thesis, the latter received his degree and in late July 2009 returned home to Karachi, where he has now assumed a position as lecturer at NED University.  In 2009 alone, participants in this joint project presented papers at six conferences.

Although much has been accomplished on this project, Dr. Uddin indicates that his colleague’s efforts have reportedly been hampered due to some funding delays, which have forced them to push back planned travel and the purchase of data and equipment needed for their work. Therefore, their First International Conference on Sustainable Transportation and Traffic Management, which had been planned for December 2009, has now been postponed until July 1-3, 2010. A link to the conference flier is posted in the Progress Reports section above. A no-cost extension has been arranged on both sides.

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