‘Big data’ could fuel reduced congestion worldwide

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With more than a billion vehicles on roads around the world, traffic congestion affects millions of people each day. It eats up precious time that could be better spent on the job or at home with family, and it has psychological and physical health implications. In the world of business, it is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in productivity.

Traffic congestion can seem inevitable, or at least too expensive and difficult to solve. TomTom, a global leader in navigation and mapping products, is challenging this conventional thinking. In its Traffic Manifesto, TomTom advocates using big data analytics and smart mobility to reduce traffic congestion for all.

In the opening session of the annual CTS Transportation Research Conference on May 20, keynote speaker Ralf-Peter Schäfer, vice president of TomTom’s Traffic and Travel Information Product Unit, described how big data is the fuel needed to reduce congestion worldwide.

“In the past, we’ve had to rely on loop data and macro models to compute density, speed, and travel time, but we don’t always get the precise data we need with these two methods to make good decisions,” Schäfer said.  “With the emergence of connected GPS systems, smartphones, and smart cars, we suddenly have millions of connected users on the road, which has allowed us to gather huge amounts of real-time floating vehicle data based on real trips. We’re talking about hyper connectivity that can result in massive change.”

Through road traffic analytics, this massive amount of data can be converted into powerful information such as route travel times, road segment speeds, vehicle flow and density, city performance analysis, speed profiles for navigation, and origin-destination traffic flow analysis.

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These analytics can then be used in a wide variety of ways, including planning trips for commuters and logistics businesses, helping transportation planning organizations and governments understand what is occurring in specific areas and on the system as a whole, or even allowing outdoor advertisers to determine the most effective placement for their billboards. 

The availability of advanced analytics can also have a positive impact on roadway safety by warning drivers about weather-related problems, road construction, and unexpected congestion. 

“More than 35 percent of drivers have admitted to experiencing an accident caused by sudden or unexpected traffic holdups,” Schäfer said. “We can use data to detect traffic queues and get ‘traffic jam ahead’ warnings to drivers with a high degree of accuracy so that they are not surprised by sudden traffic stoppages.”

Advanced navigation technology also has the power to reduce congestion for all road users—whether or not they use the technology themselves.

“We’ve determined that if just 10 percent of drivers use this technology, individual journey time for these users will be reduced by up to 15 percent, and the collective journey time reduction for all road users will be up to 5 percent,” Schäfer said. “As connected users make informed detours, traffic volume on the congested route decreases.”

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Michael McCarthy
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