Smart cities are actively becoming the centre for mobility innovation – and rightly so. Mobility as we know facilitates the movement and is a key determiner of what makes a city habitable.

Today’s cities face major challenges in developing mobility like security, congestion and accessibility. And that is before they have even recognized environmental issues. There is no refuting that these challenges will only increase as urban populations are predicted to grow to a staggering 70% of the global population by 2050.

With this predicted population growth in cities, by 2050 it’s been said that congestion and therefore commute times will rise threefold, the prices of transportation will increase fourfold, and emissions will accelerate to five times the present levels. A reasonable action would be to shift away from the concept of a traditional city towards a smart city: one in which connectivity and mobility considerations take the main stage.

Recent reports show that autonomous technologies have the capacity to cut urban travel time by a third and lessen greenhouse emissions by two thirds. That includes almost 30% fewer vehicles in already crowded cities. The increasing requirement for parking spaces would also decrease significantly by more than 40%. While it may seem that autonomous vehicles are something from the future, the fact is they are already on the roads presently. For instance, in Las Vegas, they have a mobility fleet of more than 30 autonomous cars providing on-demand taxi services in association with Lyft. In the near future, mobility concepts like this could play a vital role in helping to keep our cities moving.

Autonomous vehicles give so much more than just mobility advantages. Perhaps the most impressive and relevant impact they can have is on safety. Traffic accidents can be decreased by almost 90% by using driverless cars, significantly advancing the safety of our roads. It is for this reason that progressive cities are preparing for connected and autonomous vehicles by using upgrades including vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies and smart traffic signals.

Urbanisation is predicted to go into overdrive over the next decade, hence the need to plan for this unprecedented speed of growth is required by promoting innovative solutions.

These are just a few of the causes why autonomous stakeholders need to concentrate on working with cities to understand the difficulties and how autonomous technology can adapt to a city. Again, Autonomous Cars are a key enabler for change from traditional cities to smart cities. The seamless alliance of driverless vehicles into the city foundation is required to leverage the true perks of this Cultural Revolution, permitting on-demand mobility services being accessible for everyone.

So as the market looks for answers to combat the problems that lie between their dreams and fruition, dedicated expos and connects have cropped up across the globe to provide a platform for the mutual sharing of knowledge and resources. World Mobility Show, hosted in Dubai by global events and consulting firm Trescon, will look to connect key government associations and investors, in the entire MENA region, with various solution providers whom are looking to disrupt the future of mobility and transportation.

You too can be a part of this event, and learn how we are inching closer towards the reality behind changing the way we move people goods and commodities forever!