Demonstration Operation of AI-based Smart Mobility System Commences in Clark, a Smart City of the Philippines

The rapid increase in the number of users in the transportation sector and the traffic congestion caused by the discretionary operations of independent drivers have become social problems in the Philippines, where the economic and population are notably growing. This traffic situation is also the cause of problems such as economic losses, air pollution, and wasteful energy consumption. The Philippine government has launched the Public Transportation Vehicle Modernization Program as a transportation policy. This is intended to improve the punctuality and convenience of transportation system including cashless payment service, as well as the safety, comfort, and environmental performance of vehicles.

Under these circumstances, NEDO and BCDA exchanged a memorandum of understanding in February 2023 to carry out a demonstration project^*2, which aims to improve the convenience and efficiency of public transportation and reduce energy consumption by introducing and operating a system that enables efficient public transportation operations. At the same time, Zenmov, a subsidized company that is responsible for implementing the project, and MMTOI, a local cooperating company, have concluded a project agreement.

Subsequently, Zenmov and MMTOI launched a demonstration project in Clark, which is being developed as a smart city in the Philippines. Zenmov’s cloud-based traffic management system, SMOC, is installed in environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric buses, including an autonomous bus. By doing so, the project aims to improve operational efficiency, reduce GHG emissions, and conserve energy by ensuring punctuality through optimal scheduling according to transportation demand, reducing waiting time with inter-vehicle coordination functions, and improving convenience with cashless services.

Project Details

Data such as the location and number of passengers of the 13 electric buses (one of which is an autonomous bus) and 5 clean diesel buses, as well as data collected from smart poles and a drone, will be stored in the cloud. Based on these accumulated data, the system analyzes transportation demand and automatically generates an optimal operation schedule to demonstrate effective operation.

The efficiencies and contributions to be realized by the demonstration study are as follows.

• (1) Operational Efficiency: By using AI and other digital technologies to generate optimal operation schedules to match transportation demand, the system provides efficient operations with fewer vehicles and maximum transportation capacity.
• (2) Multimodal: Combining different modes of transportation, such as clean diesel buses (Euro 4 engine^*3) for medium and long distances on main roads, and electric buses, autonomous vehicles, and electrically assisted bicycles for short and last mile distances (e.g., from home to bus stop), will realize efficient and flexible transportation to reach the destination. This will eliminate the inconvenience of users having to walk long distances from their homes or destinations to bus stops, or not being able to use the bus.
• (3) Contribution to smart city development: It will be the first in the Philippines to operate autonomous buses and monitor transportation demand using smart poles, a drone and IT system, contributing to the Philippine government’s smart city initiative in Clark.

The demonstration study will verify the improvement of operational efficiency and increase in the number of passengers, aiming to construct a system that is more convenient, reduces GHG emissions, and contributes to energy conservation. Zenmov’s intention is deploying the proven system not only in cities in the Philippines but also in neighboring countries and regions.

An opening ceremony was held at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium to mark the start of the demonstration operation in the presence of a large number of parties concerned. The ceremony included speeches by NEDO Executive Director YUMITORI Shuji, Zenmov President & CEO TANAKA Sumio, and other related parties, and Zenmov presented an overview of the project. After that, attendees experienced a ride in an autonomous bus and other vehicles.

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  Fig.2 The delegates of respective organizations participated in the ribbon-cutting event at the opening ceremony
  (the second from the left, NEDO Executive Director YUMITORI, the second from the right, Zenmov President & CEO TANAKA)

*1 SMOC

Abbreviation for Smart Mobility Operation Cloud. Zenmov's cloud-based traffic control system that realizes smart mobility, which it began offering as a SaaS for transit operators (buses) in the Philippines in 2020. It contributes to improved operational efficiency and driver productivity as a solution equipped with administrator functions such as dispatch scheduling, driver management, operation mode management, and ticketing, as well as driver and passenger applications. For urban development developers and other smart city-related businesses, the system is offered as a MaaS platform with multi-modal and multi-device management, GHG emissions visualization, and other features. In addition to scheduled route operations, the system also supports management of on-demand, charter, and other modes of operation according to the operator's objectives, as well as expansion to specific applications such as pickup and delivery management.

*2 International Demonstration Project on Japan's Energy Efficiency Technologies

• Project name: International Demonstration Project on Japan's Technologies for Decarbonization and Energy Transition / Demonstration Project of Smart Mobility for the Transformation of Energy Consumption Behavior (Philippines)
• Project period: FY2022 to FY2025
• Project overview: International Demonstration Project on Japan's Technologies for Decarbonization and Energy Transition

*3 Euro 4 engine

Refers to engines that meet the fourth emission standard set by the European Union (EU). This standard limits harmful substances (especially carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter) emitted from vehicles and has been standardized since 2005. Based on this standard, Euro 4 engines are characterized by their low environmental impact, as they are equipped with technologies that control and reduce emissions of hazardous substances.

• International Projects Department, NEDO
  Tel:＋81-44-520-5190
• IR/PR, Zenmov
  Tel:＋81-3-4334-8445