Here is a press release detailing on the ground research on urban transportation issues in Morocco that is being done as we write by folks from IBM. Being back in Morocco after a long absence, and feeling frustrated by the urban transportation issues of the Rabat area makes me appreciate this work.
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Press Release
May 21, 2012, 3:00 p.m. EDT
IBM to Research Urban Transport Issues in Morocco
Team of IBM experts arrives for three-week project funded by IBM Smarter Cities Challenge Grant
Rabat bested 140 other cities around the world to become one of IBM's
Smarter Cities Challenge winners this year. Launched in 2011, the IBM
initiative is a three-year, 100-city US$50 million competitive grant
program and is IBM's single-largest philanthropic initiative.
Winning cities get the benefit of some of IBM's most talented employees
who examine critical top priority urban issues such as transportation,
health, housing, economic development and public safety. The IBM team
then creates a comprehensive plan of creative solutions which they
present to the city's leadership addressing each top priority issue.
Rabat, as the administrative capital of Morocco, hosts all government
ministries and embassy headquarters, and has a rapidly growing
metropolitan population of 1.8 million people. As a result, Rabat faces
increased demand for public transport. As part of the Moroccan National
Urban Transport Strategy, transforming the area's transport system has
become a priority to help improve the city's efficiency and demonstrate
the sustainability of urban transport for the rest of the country.
In collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Interior, the
Municipality of Rabat, the Bouregreg Valley Development Agency, Stareo
(Greater Rabat Bus transportation Management Company), The National
Commission on Urban Transport (NCUT) and The Casablanca Urban Transport
Planning and Management Agency, the IBM team will provide insights and
recommendations on:
Governance of the urban transportation sector
Integration of the various transportation modes (Tramway / Bus / Taxi)
Implementation of a sustainable economic model for public transportation
Conducting and implementing change
"IBM is strongly committed to helping cities improve themselves and
through this initiative will provide its best talent and expertise to
help the city of Rabat develop smarter solutions for urban transport,"
said Abdallah Rachidi, IBM Morocco Country General Manager.
This is the third IBM team that IBM has sent to Morocco on a pro-bono
basis. Earlier this year, a team from IBM's Corporate Service Corps
program was involved in several other projects:
At the Ministry of Agriculture, the IBM team helped design systems to
help farmers increase revenue. This included a system that
automatically disseminates market prices using phone texts and speech
recognition technology. The team also provided advice on establishing
international food exchanges and an irrigation advisory system that uses
analytics technology.
At the Ministry of General and Economic Affairs and the Department of
Social Economy, a team of IBM employees proposed a national strategy to
implement the "Badawi Souk" to increase the revenue of rural
entrepreneurs.
At the ARDI Foundation, the IBM team recommended marketing methodologies
for market segmentation and product design, including tactics such as
client surveys, word-of-mouth advertising, and an incentive system.
At the Moroccan Women Network for Mentoring, the IBM team developed a
two-year plan to help the organization develop a charter, training
manual, blog, social networking guidelines, and web advertising
strategy.
Africa is a key priority for IBM's skilled problem-solving efforts.
Since its launch in 2008, IBM's Corporate Service Corps has deployed
more than 500 IBM employees on approximately 44 teams to South Africa,
Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt. All told, across 30
different countries, IBM has sent 1,500 employees and executives coming
50 countries on more than 150 team assignments throughout the world via
its Corporate Service Corps.
SOURCE IBM
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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