Israel deploys AI traffic lights to ease congestion

Netivei Israel, the National Transport Infrastructure Company, is deploying AI-based adaptive traffic lights across Israel to address worsening traffic congestion. The company has already installed approximately 170 of these smart lights, which analyze traffic demand and adjust signal timing in real time to improve flow.

Initial results from a sample of 25 junctions show an average time saving of 25 seconds per vehicle. At the Furedeis junction, which handles about 80,000 vehicles daily, the system is estimated to save 771 hours of travel time each day. Similarly, at the junction entering Kiryat Tivon, drivers save up to 56 seconds per vehicle, totaling 679 hours saved daily. Netivei Israel estimates that deploying these adaptive lights at 100 junctions could provide an annual economic benefit exceeding NIS 500 million.

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Our aspiration is that within five years all 750 junctions for which Netivei Israel is responsible will be adaptive.

Unlike traditional traffic lights that operate on pre-set timers based on periodic counts, adaptive systems use cameras to identify vehicles and analyze queue lengths up to 100 meters away. The algorithm then modifies signal timing dynamically. The system was developed over several years by ITC (Intelligent Traffic Control) in collaboration with various departments within Netivei Israel. The company's goal is to have all 750 junctions under its responsibility equipped with adaptive technology within five years. Eitan Silberstein, head of the technologies unit in the traffic management department, emphasized that the ultimate aim is to optimize entire routes, not just individual junctions, to achieve significant time savings for commuters.

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On average, a driver uses three main roads on the way to work, with five to ten junctions on each. We estimate that an average saving of ten minutes on each journey will amount to two working weeks over the course of a year. The aim is not just to turn more traffic lights into smart traffic lights. If I save 30 seconds at a junction, but delay a driver at the next junction, I haven't done anything. The real leap forward will be when the entire route is adaptive.