The Fiji Roads Authority is now banking on the government to provide a budget to complete the installation of automatic traffic light systems, or smart traffic lights.

FRA Chief Executive Kamal Prasad says the software for the transition is already being purchased, but they are yet to connect the traffic lights through a hardware connection.

In 2019, the then Chief Executive of FRA stated they were switching to the smart system in 18 months; however, this failed to take place.

Prasad says some traffic lights are already automatic, but the connection has yet to be established.

“They are automatic at the moment, but they are not talking to each other; it’s because we do not have that software at the moment, but all those lights are fitted with the hardware that can allow them to talk to each other, but we don’t have the main software to run that.”

Prasad says it will require funding to establish the hardware connections essential for the seamless operation of the traffic lights.

“Not all of them have been upgraded, so once that’s done, we will pick that up; maybe next financial year, we’ll do some more upgrades, and then once all the upgrades are done on the hardware, we will bring in the software and then start running that software to run the traffic.”

The advanced system will incorporate a range of sensors and artificial intelligence capabilities, enabling intelligent routing of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.