Digital Display
Japanese subsidiary setting up DOOH-enabling traffic info display on Ahmedabad’s ‘Smart Roads’
The Digital Variable Messaging Sign (VMS) boards of 7×3 meters in size will display real time-traffic information to the travelers along with outdoor advertising and promotion in the ratio of 50:50.
Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of Zero Sum Ltd, Japan, is launching its Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) solution with an amalgamation of Digital OOH advertising on Ashram Road, the business district of Ahmedabad and Riverfront Road, the flagship Riverside road of Ahmedabad. With the launch of the ITS solution, both the roads will be converted into the first ‘Smart’ Roads in the city. Digital Variable Messaging Sign (VMS) boards of 7×3 meters in size will be inaugurated on October 1 which displays the real time-traffic information to the travelers along with outdoor advertising and promotion in the ratio of 50:50.
The ITS solution is being launched with the key goal of enabling real time decision making to road users by providing them with real time traffic information and for the first time in India, providing road users with ‘Recommended’ route information. The recommended route information provides traffic information on current route and all alternative routes on the entire stretch of Ashram and West Riverfront Roads, thereby optimising road occupancy and usage by routing traffic to less busier stretches of the road en route. The system gathers real-time traffic data through 18 camera based traffic sensors, processes this information in real time over a cloud-based data control centre which analyses the traffic on the roads and creates alternative route recommendations which are thereafter disseminated to the road users through seven full colour Digital Variable Messaging Sign (VMS) boards of 7×3 meters, that have been installed around 200m before key road junctions across both Riverfront and Ashram roads. This will provide road users with enough time to see and comprehend the recommended routes and change course accordingly to reach their destination.
Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd. was awarded with the implementation of the ITS solution by Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd, (SRFDCL) a company created as a special purpose vehicle of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for the development of the Riverfront Road in Ahmedabad. Zero-Sum Ltd, Japan, the parent company of Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd, has already implemented an ITS solution across the 132 Feet Ring Road of Ahmedabad in 2014, which was well received by AMC and the public of Ahmedabad, thereby providing encouraging feedback for SRFDCL and AMC to replicate the solution across Ashram and Riverfront Road of Ahmedabad. Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd. has further improved on the ITS solution to not only provide real time traffic information but also provide a simulated alternative route recommendation for the first time in India. The project has been awarded to Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd. under a PPP (Public Private Partnership) basis, with the responsibility of implementing the solution on a Build, Maintain, Operate and Transfer basis, with the period of operation and maintenance set for 30 years. During the operation and maintenance period, Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd. has been granted the license to display commercial advertisements on 50% screen space on all seven of the digital VMS boards erected on Ashram and Riverfront Road. The revenue garnered through the display of such commercial advertisement will be retained by Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd to offset their investment in this project.
Speaking about the launch of the solution Chikara Kikuchi, Managing Director of Zero-Sum ITS Solutions India Pvt Ltd, said, “We have received an overwhelming response to the first phase of the project in Ahmedabad. The city and its people are increasingly becoming digitally-savvy. We would like to contribute to building the reputation of Ahmedabad as a truly smart city, by helping its people choose the right roads to commute and use the time thus saved to enhance their productivity and in turn, contribute to the growth of the city. While commuters are central to the ITS solution, we are also trying to better aid the work of the traffic police and help ease traffic congestion. We are excited to see how the second phase of the solution pans out for the city. We are deeply passionate about improving the traffic conditions in India. The VMS information boards displaying traffic information are LED boards of 7/3metres in size, placed strategically before key decision-making points on Ashram and Riverfront Roads. They will display real time alternative route recommendations to the commuter, a feature that is first of its kind in India. This information will help commuters to avoid junctions with heavy traffic jams and take an alternate route”.
He further elaborated, “The solution is completely automated, requiring no intervention for the operation of the system either by the civic agency or the traffic police, thereby enabling them to utilise their time better for more crucial activities. The advertisement system that is built into the model offers unique advertising opportunities to companies, government agencies, media agencies and OOH agencies. The LED information boards can be used to display government announcements, CSR messages, and other advertisements, alongside the traffic information display board. The digital OOH advertisements, unlike physical OOH displays, need very less turnaround time and can be made live almost immediately. It even offers advertisers to create OOH campaigns based on time, location, event, scheme or festival. More importantly this display medium can also be used by organizations for promoting and educating road users on road safety through their own CSR programmes.”