Incorporating urban traffic information into a regional traffic management

 

Background:

Regional journeys are usually not limited to one municipality. Travellers use interurban transport networks as well as the inner-city networks of different cities and municipalities. Providing travellers with suitable information and a basis for their choice of route, transport mode, travel time, etc., requires a trans-jurisdictional coordination of both information regarding the traffic situation and the following preparation of traffic information and traffic management. Up until then, such traffic information was only available to each corporation for their own jurisdiction. This may lead to problems or counterproductive effects (e.g. recommending a diversion via an alternative route blocked by an accident or a major event) in traffic management or when generating traffic information. Traffic information and traffic management must therefore be coordinated trans-jurisdictionally involving different partners, and should ideally make use of all available sources of data. The tools required for a trans-jurisdictional data management and coordination of traffic information have not existed so far.

Aims of the project:

The aim of the project was to develop a concept for the integration of urban traffic information into a regional traffic management (transition from urban to extra urban transport) and to test its implementation.

Project contents and structure:

In the initial analytical phase we investigated the state of technology and research on data sources, standards, concepts, and technologies for trans-jurisdictional traffic data and traffic information management. We also conducted expert interviews with key practitioners (WP100). An analysis of the users’ demand for information (WP200) constituted the basis for us to determine the requirements of developing a data management and organisation concept for the trans-jurisdictional traffic information (WP300). In order to do so, we suggested and designed a distributed service-oriented architecture employing web services. We put the data management concept (demonstrator) into practice in a test area using a selected area of information (WP400). The resulting requirements for the further development (regulatory, organisational, technical) were deduced and summarized as recommendations for action (WP600).

Commissioned by:

Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), Brüderstr. 53, 51427 Bergisch Gladbach

Contractor:

momatec GmbH, Diepenbenden 44, 52076 Aachen
Institute of Urban and Transport Planning (ISB), Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 1, 52074 Aachen (sub-contractor)

Project duration:

August 2007 – February 2009

Contact at the ISB:

Dipl.-Ing. Katja Johänning