Forget self-driving cars: Think of how else technology could ride to the rescue of urban India’s streets

But optimism or any lack thereof has no bearing on the need for tech solutions to upgrade how vehicles move. For one thing, the status quo is costly. Among middle-income economies, the country’s road fatality data is off the charts. Safety is an urgency. For another, making the most of foundational tech enablers is good policy. One never knows what benefits well-linked streets can yield.

This is why airwave spectrum allocation for ‘vehicle-to-everything’ or V2X technology, as the government is reported to have initiated, may well hold the promise of better traffic ahead. Early test results from Europe and China point to better road safety, traffic flows and emissions.

‘Smart cars’ are already on the streets, linked with the internet for services like active map guidance, even as car sensors aim to fend off collisions. It is public infrastructure that’s had to keep up.

Ever since the ministry of road transport and highways set up a taskforce for ‘intelligent transport systems’ in 2024, it was clear that telecom would have to play a key role.

India’s envisioned network for road traffic, for which spectrum has been earmarked and allotment rules may shortly be framed, would not just link vehicles with one another, but also feed them with live data from a web of roadside units.

Alerts and information on road hazards, snarls, speed limits on stretches, emergency vehicles, lane arrangements, intersection protocols and so on could be relayed to drivers. Accidents could be avoided, even delinquent cars tracked.

A widespread and fully functional network of this kind could prevent the likes of the tragedy last June when vehicles drove off a collapsed bridge in Vadodara, Gujarat, with 13 lives lost. Plus, the existence of such a telecom set-up could attract private innovators to offer value-added services.

Given our urban gridlocks, this may be a market waiting to emerge. Global apps for route direction offer alerts, but are found to be out of touch with local pitfalls; users need reliable updates on road conditions.

Ultimately, though, terrestrial networks may not be enough; we may need satellite link-ups to help decongest our traffic. As far as ideas go, all-India road pricing could work if it varies with usage demand in real-time and goes by user budgets; empty roads should cost less and rich users should pay more.

Our current toll-plaza set-up for highways is a patchy tangle, but could be webbed into a national plan. Orbital scanners offer not just full coverage of roads, but can also track a vehicle’s path and speed. This could enable a high-tech toll system that would not just vary charges in line with traffic density (or demand), but also charge a hefty premium for the use of a speedy lane. Those who value their time would pay for faster passage. Real-time price fluctuations in this market could optimize traffic in all its chaotic diversity.

For it to be equitable, road fees could be calibrated to shoot up from a few rupees to thousands by vehicle-value slabs. From a privacy point of view, being watched on the move may sound creepy, but with cybersecurity guardrails in place, it would only be technology at work for orderly traffic—a public goal in dire need of action.