Technology Profile |
The power of historical
floating car data
Data is power. In the
mobility industry, floating
car data (FCD) is the elixir
of knowledge to produce
both real-time and historical
traffic information. At the
same time, it complements
traditional counting
mechanisms such as inductive
loops and even allows to
combine FCD and loops by
means of data fusion. But more
importantly, FCD measures
vehicle movements where
loops have never been present.
A treasure that divulges
underlying truths on the
entire road network.
One of these truths is cutthrough
traffic: do drivers take
local roads to avoid busy main
roads and, as a consequence, are
residential areas suffering from
congestion that is not even
supposed to be there? Drivers
often get the illusion that they
can reach their destination
faster by taking congestion-free
local roads, avoiding as such
the usual traffic jams. However,
research has shown that that’s
not always the case. In fact,
travel times can even be longer.
Clearing congestion
With Be-Mobile’s easy-to-use
web application, FlowCheck,
mobility issues such as cutthrough
traffic are easy and
quick to uncover. More
specifically, there are three
possible types of analysis. First,
segment analysis shows how
traffic is moving with respect
to one specific road segment.
This is ideal for investigating
cut-through traffic or
problematic zones. Second,
route analysis visualizes traffic
on certain routes with travel
time graphs and time-distance
diagrams. This could be useful
for comparing travel times on
traditional routes and their
equivalent shortcuts to assess
| Need to know
The low-down on
Be-Mobile’s FlowCheck
web application
064 Traffic Technology International March/April 2020
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
> Unlike traditional
measuring methods, the
GPS-based dataset can
track vehicles over a long
stretch of road
> Offers three types of
analysis: segment, route
and historical maps
> Useful for gaining traffic
knowledge for road
operators
> The expectation is that
FlowCheck could also offer
advantages to the wider
traffic industry in the
future.
In the future, however,
private companies can also
benefit from FlowCheck. For
example, the operations of large
business sites such as ports are
frequently affected by traffic
on-site: employees need to enter
and exit the port around the
same time and cargo needs to
be delivered at any time of day.
FlowCheck can give them the
knowledge it takes to reduce
discomfort related to traffic.
Additionally, FlowCheck also
provides the wisdom to assess
the perfect location for a new
business venue, calculate the
average travel times of
employees, or better: the
time they lose in traffic while
commuting to work. This could
trigger or support some HR
decisions such as flexible
working hours or telework.
if it actually pays off to avoid
congested roads. The third type,
historical maps, displays the
traffic density in a specific area
during morning or evening rush.
This component could be the
ideal basis to start brainstorming.
New possibilities
Today, FlowCheck is especially
useful for local and national
road operators to learn more
about traffic on their roads. A
specific case saw more than 80%
of drivers take a preliminary
exit causing cut-through traffic
in a neighbouring town, instead
of leading them directly to the
city they actually needed to be
in. As it turned out, there was
a simple explanation: further
down the highway an exit
was missing, which compelled
drivers to take the closest,
preliminary exit. It is important
to realise that an interpretation
such as this is only possible
when you work with FCD.
This GPS-based dataset has the
potential to track vehicles over
a longer stretch of road, unlike
traditional measuring methods
such as inductive loops.
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visit: www.magupdate.co.uk/ptti
Above: The FlowCheck web
application is easy-to-use
Inset: Road operators can tackle
congestion with FlowCheck
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
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