The Effect of 5G on the Transportation Sector

Advances in ICTs have continued to affect various sectors of the economy during the last two decades. As a result, the transportation industry has entered a period of rapid transition, and the rate of change is more likely to accelerate with 5G technology significantly impacting the transportation sector.

The 5G technology brings intriguing potential use cases and some unknown hazards. One possible worry is that present traffic regulatory government agencies will be unable to keep up with these advancements and verify that they are entirely compliant and secure. Another difficulty will be putting such inventions into practice and benefiting from them, particularly in underdeveloped nations.

Despite the potential for a significant increase in road safety, driverless vehicles raise complex liability and risk issues. For example, the digitalization of public transportation and the integration of private MaaS operators in cities will necessitate an innovation-friendly governance environment. Autonomous vehicles could result in unnecessary, empty journeys and wasted energy if the regulatory environment does not meet new realities, with implications for curb use, parking, e-tolling, congestion charge, and more.

Even though 5G is essentially a mobile technology, it will deliver end-to-end connections throughout cities and beyond. In addition, it will facilitate a variety of transportation-related communications, including but not limited to vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-infrastructure.

In the future years, the advent of 5G technology will have a significant impact on transportation. Commercial vehicles feature numerous sensors that monitor the vehicle’s condition and performance to ensure availability and minimize unexpected failures. These sensors and cameras would monitor current, real-time traffic patterns, and traffic signals would adjust accordingly. As a result, 5G may help reduce commuting times and enhance the overall efficiency of urban transportation.

Furthermore, the percentage of cars actively connected to a 5G service will rise from 15 percent today to 74 percent in 2023 and 94 percent five years later. Vehicles that can communicate with one another, interact with traffic signals, and even look around corners would result in more efficient traffic flow and fewer traffic offenses.

A 5G network will be brimming with information. Rather than having additional information sources, decision support systems should take a more significant role and provide more clarity in the options available. For example, a decision support system can help transportation companies choose the optimum routes for transporting goods, lowering fuel usage, and reducing environmental effects. Further, making better judgments with less uncertainty is a significant benefit of having more information. With so much data available, it’s easier to spot patterns in previous events, which may create an avenue to make predictions.

The increased data flow would also improve another component, active transportation. Cyclist and pedestrian safety will improve using the 5G-enabled smart connection and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, benefiting from safer autos. In addition, city and national governments may encourage infrastructure sharing to increase telecom availability and other mobility services.

Society can achieve this by employing traffic lights or streetlights to construct 5G ultra-dense networks and generate ITS-related services, resulting in more jobs in the digital economy. In other words, the availability of 5G in urban areas presents a revolutionary possibility for urban mobility, allowing communities to upgrade and improve their transportation systems.

The transportation sector, which includes everything from public buses to private automobiles, cabs, and trucks, will benefit in various ways as 5G technology advances. While it is impossible to predict all 5G-related application areas, the rise of linked and self-driving vehicles appears to be the clearest. As a result, the number of smart, self-driving cars will increase.