Dubai telecommunications company, Du, wants to know everything about your morning commute: Did you take a taxi to the metro station? How long did you wait for the train? It’s betting that this information can make transportation in Dubai more efficient.
Since partnering last year with Smart Dubai, a government initiative to infuse the emirate with new technology, Du has been applying its digital expertise for city planning.
“We’re solving an issue right now in our city, which is mobility,” says Daniel Tapiador, Du’s director of big data monetization. “How we move around the city is very unsustainable.”
The U.N. estimates that 60% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030, up from 54% today, and transportation systems have to adapt.
Now, 24% of travel in Dubai is through public transportation. GPS provider TomTom, which tracks traffic congestion globally, estimates that the average driver in Dubai spends 101 hours a year stuck in traffic.
Solution: tap into Du’s network of 6.5 million mobile users to collect data on how people travel, and use this information to find out what needs to be fixed.
“Mobile data is a very good source of data for measuring behavior around citizens for mobility, and it can help us understand what is the reason for those traits and we can plan better,” he says.
Another feature: near real-time tracking that shows population density every 15 minutes around the city. Tapiador says this could allow them to plan for emergencies and security measures.
Smartphone users might be apprehensive about tracking. Keeping data anonymous is more difficult than it seems. In 2012, Du took a random set of de-identified customers to see if it could re-identify them with the help of an algorithm. Based on the time a customer appeared at four different locations, it was able to identify 95% of people.
Tapiador sees it as a trade-off: giving up some privacy to potentially improve quality of life. He advocates for regulations that notify users how their data will be used.
The U.A.E. government requires telecom companies to share customer data if it deems it in the public interest, like Smart Dubai.