Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 1

Traffic Management and Control

Workshop on Research and Technological Development for Information Society Technologies Applied to

Transport and Tourism- "Hearing with Interested Actors"

Brussels, Tuesday, 23 May 2000

Richard Bossom

Siemens Traffic Controls Limited

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 2

Definition

a definition of “Traffic Management and Control” is:“The process that enables the efficient movement of traffic

using a physical road network.”

depends on the definition of “efficient”: all traffic moves in a way that minimises overall delay traffic carrying the most people gets priority

choosing between the two is a matter of policy

definition takes no account of the needs of pedestrians

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 3

Traffic Management Methodologies

Traffic Management usually applied to two road network types:

urban - in cities and towns inter-urban - links cities and towns

Rural Areas will include road networks that are either of these two

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 4

Inter-urban Traffic Management provides facilities that are “active” or “passive”

“active” facilities include: lane use management: open/close lanes, change direction speed management: advisory and/or mandatory total closure: usually reserved for severe incidents

“passive” facilities include: journey time information: encourage drivers to use faster

routes routing advice: may cause drivers to use other routes tolling: may cause drivers to use cheaper routes

devices used include: variable text signs, lane indicators

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 5

Urban Traffic Management

has been in use for considerable time

both “active” and “passive” facilities available

“active” facilities provide direct control of traffic: junction control: regulates use of road network selective road/lane closure and change of use

“passive” facilities provide driver information: car park occupancy: directs drivers to available spaces diversionary information: advice about other routes

devices used include: traffic signals, fixed message signs, variable text signs

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 6

Urban Traffic Management Methodology (1)

available in two types: distributed and centralised

distributed type, e.g. UTOPIA, SCATS employs “intelligent” traffic signal controllers at junctions controllers able to take decisions based on “local” situation some co-ordination between adjacent controllers

centralised type, e.g. SCOOT, TRANSYT employs “dumb” traffic signal controllers at junctions controllers can only do what they are told by central system strong emphasis on co-ordination between adjacent controllers

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 7

Urban Traffic Management Methodology (2)

other methodologies being introduced or considered: co-ordinated Public Transport priority controlled access for selected vehicles congestion management (gating) environmental management

incident management now becoming very important: requires accurate detection of possible incident variety of strategies must be available strategies implemented quickly strategies must be adaptable

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 8

Future Trends

traffic management and control is a central part of ITS

acts as source of data: traffic and travel information (congestion, journey times) real-time trip planning

links to other systems: other transport modes for co-ordination urban and inter-urban strategy co-ordination Emergency Services incident management co-ordination

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 9

Possible Areas of Future Research (1)

targets for future research should include: detection:

> how to get more comprehensive information ?> how can satellites detect traffic conditions ?> causes of incidents (road type, geographic are, etc.) ?

strategy implementation:> effects on other road networks and modes ?> urban and inter-urban interface improvements ?> use decision support systems to aid strategy choice ?

use and impact of VMS:> replace words with pictures ?> effects of particular messages ?

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 10

Possible Areas of Future Research (2) targets for future research should include:

improving comm’s infrastructure use:> network sharing ?> Ways to reduce cost of use/ownership ?

also need a demonstration of a commercially based system that provides a revenue stream for the dissemination of traffic and travel information:

combines technologies (Internet, GSM, GPS, WAP) includes such things as floating car data collection extend traffic information to provide full details of diversions

Thank you for listening

Siemens Traffic Controls Ltd ITSE99/Standards 11

Thank you for listening !