Yuri Gamzatov, the Minister of Digital Development of the Republic of Dagestan, spoke with ITS Russia Journal about the digitalization of the transportation complex and the implementation, development and efficiency of the intelligent transport system in Dagestan
Dagestan is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Russian tourists. The Republic expects to welcome up to 2 million guests this year and see an increase in tourist traffic by a third compared to last year.
The regional authorities partnered with Urbantech Group of Companies to implement an intelligent transport system in the Makhachkala urban agglomeration. In April 2023, the project won the 1st National Smart City Award.
The main objective of ITS implementation is to reduce the accident rate in the region and increase safety for all road users.
Makhachkala residents are already seeing the effect and are positive about the changes in traffic patterns. We managed to increase the capacity of Peter the Great and Rasul Gamzatov Prospects in the morning and evening rush hours by 14% and 12%, respectively, due to the coordinated management of traffic lights.
«Now we can control street congestion in real time, promptly respond to accidents, monitor public transport quality, and manage traffic at intersections and in major traffic jam areas.»
The introduction of ITS will have a noticeable effect only if we apply a holistic approach to solving transport problems. For example, we can adjust the traffic lights, but if drivers still ignore the red light, no amount of digitalization is going to help.
We strive to ensure that ITS in Dagestan is not implemented just "for show", in order to comply with the Russian Government’s decree. It also has to function properly and achieve its objective – to make travelling around the city more comfortable, to save time on the road for the residents and to reduce the accident rate. Due to the introduction of ITS in Moscow, the accident rate decreased by 2 times, and the average speed increased by 13%. We focus on achieving similar results.