Challenge Bibendum - The contribution of technology to limit traffic jams

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Home DISCOVERING THE SOLUTIONS Urban mobility The contribution of technology to limit traffic jams

The contribution of technology to limit traffic jams

05-12-2010 by Challenge Bibendum

Resume:
In addition to organizational choices, what can technology do to reduce traffic jams? The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) appeared several years ago. It is a set of devices broadcasting information to enable drivers or public authorities to make real-time decisions depending on traffic status.

The contribution of technology to sustainable mobility

The underlying technologies were borrowed from data processing and defense, including a variety of detectors (radar, cameras, etc.), hardware and software, mobile communication systems or satellite navigation, man-machine interfaces, etc. These devices are on-board vehicles and in roadways and are often connected to a control center. This system considers urban transportation as a whole, including vehicles, drivers and infrastructures and can be truly effective only if a significant percentage of vehicles is included.

The most widespread applications at the present time include centralized traffic management (control of traffic lights depending on traffic density at an intersection, in particular for on-ramps to freeways, modulation of speed limits on segments, detection of slowdowns), information to travelers on road status (panels indicating the state of saturation of a given segment, alternative itineraries proposed, data platforms reachable by cell phone or Internet, automatic alarms by the same means) and automatic tolls enabling vehicles to pass through at normal speed, for instance in Melbourne, Santiago or Toronto. The road infrastructure is thus adapted to classical (standard) vehicles.

Vehicles are becoming more intelligent

In addition, the vehicles themselves are becoming "intelligent" (many models are factory-equipped with GPS or route selection on a screen) to help the driver best use the infrastructure. Vehicle location, real-time indication of the best route, centralized speed control, and automatic maintenance of a fixed distance behind the vehicle in front, the range of possibilities is immense.

At the extreme, the "Cybernetic (or telematic) Transportation System" manages fleets of totally automated vehicles, without particular infrastructures. Even though still costly, the required technologies exist and are in use, for example at Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam. Vehicles can also be controlled intermittently: cars are remotely guided only on certain roads.

This is the case of systems such as the Autoshuttle in Europe or Megarail in the United States. In this context, the car is sometimes a part of the mass transit system. Vehicles that communicate are thus no longer a futuristic vision. The potential of Information and Communication Technologies will considerably ease individual travel on a daily basis.

La Rochelle: thirty years of innovative experimenting

La Rochelle is a medium size city on the Atlantic coast of France. It has gradually been creating a policy of "clean" travel as suitable technologies appeared. In 1970, the mayor innovated by proposing self-service bicycles. The city very quickly adopted electricity. The first electric vehicles were used for "Autoplus": bicycles, light trucks or cars that could be rented for a half-day. This was followed by electric boats between the university and downtown. "Liselec" has extended and modernized the "Autoplus" experiment: a fleet of 50 electric cars managed by an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) on a self-service basis (for subscribers) at seven stations. Finally, half the municipal vehicles are electric.

The Elcidis system involves merchandise: trucks unload at logistics platforms at the entry to the city and end-user delivery is by light trucks during non-rush hours. Rochelle is also betting on multi-mode transit. Electric minibuses shuttle between peripheral parking lots and downtown. The ticket includes the price of the trip and the parking space. Similarly "Passpartout (Everywhere) 17" is a single ticket valid for all forms of transportation in the city and its immediate surroundings.

Read also in this section:

- A new Award for “European Green Capitals”
- CarSharing, the car becomes a service
- Stockholm, a green city
- Singapore’s congestion pricing system
- Multimodal tools
- IBM enabling smart transportation systems
- “Organizational” solutions against traffic jams and gridlock

Categories: Congestion - Connected mobility - Urban mobility - Vehicles

Keywords: Infrastructure - Transportation

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