The government will soon start a trial run of a vehicle surveillance system using bluetooth technology, which will allow it to better monitor urban traffic and create solutions to address existing problems.

Malatya, a big city in eastern Turkey, was chosen as the pilot site for the system by the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change.

Bluetooth sensors will be placed in 75 spots across the city to detect the busiest routes, at a certain time of day and average traffic speed at any time, along with other traffic-related data.

The Project is part of the government’s three-year plan for "National Smart Cities Strategies and Action Plan" launched in 2020. The plan seeks to boost the transformation of cities into smart cities and reinforce their technical capacity to that extent. Smart cities are viewed as essential for the future of urban life and daily life in general, as, using technology, cities may limit wasted resources, from time to energy, and may also contribute to efforts to curb the impact of climate change. Smart transportation is a key component of smart cities where technology is used in fields from health and environment to infrastructure to enable "smart" qualities, such as a better timing for street lighting to curbing excessive and wasteful use of water in the grid.

Along with improving the quality of life, reducing traffic is crucial for Turkey’s "green development" goals as it strives to cut emissions, especially from millions of vehicles in traffic.

In Malatya, the ministry will determine traffic patterns of the city and will implement tailor-made solutions based on the patterns. Sensors will allow determination of average traffic flow speed and thus calculate travel times. Eventually, it will be the basis for smart transportation plans in the long run. In the short run, it will improve the usage of digital traffic signs thanks to feedback from sensors, such as diverting traffic from one road to another with less traffic and giving average travel time for motorists on a minute-by-minute basis through digital signs.