York real-time traffic management system boosts capacity of existing infrastructure

German transport planning software company PTV Group has implemented an expansion of its real-time traffic management software in York.

Using PTV Optima, traffic managers can analyse and implement traffic signal strategies in real-time, resulting in fewer jams, lower emissions, and improvements to journey times of up to 8% in the peaks.

The traffic management software uses live data, fast computer processing and modelling technology to predict how traffic will look on the York network in a rolling 15-minute future horizon, providing an estimation of what is happening on the road in real time.

It then runs different signal timing options to predict the most effective signal strategy, which network managers within the City of York Council control room can then implement to change the signal plan to the best alternative and reduce the size of the jams that would have been expected to build.

PTV UK technical director Michael Oliver said, “The model is continually updating itself, ingesting real-time data and reworking its predictions to react to changing conditions, alerting traffic managers to abnormal incidents and giving quantitative advice on possible mitigation strategies.”

According to Oliver, this is not only effective in the case of unexpected incidents, but also in day-to-day traffic, as no two rush hours are the same, so no two days of traffic management are the same either.

The model constantly takes in real-time data from that moment’s network conditions and predicts the best scenarios to manage that demand.

The project in York was implemented for specific junctions in the city and, according to PTV Group, demonstrated that potential benefits could be expected to outweigh the cost should the approach be upscaled across the city.

The system is also leading to better collaboration between the city’s traffic managers and traffic modellers. Historically, these professions have acted separately. Modellers used road network plans and data to design future improvements, while operators managed the existing infrastructure. Now traffic managers can increase capacity by using infrastructure on site or other mechanisms available such as intelligent transportation systems.

Additionally, traffic models can predict traffic patterns for areas with limited data. “We have found that this is a seismic change to the operator’s ability to manage traffic on a network in the most optimal way,” said Oliver.

“Technology provides a cheaper, quicker and better solution to the traditional response to traffic jams, which is to increase lane capacity, either through widening or building a completely new road.

“PTV Optima helps to squeeze additional capacity out of existing infrastructure by providing a strategic perspective to localised control.”

The PTV Optima solution has been used in cities including Rome, Strasbourg, Turin and Lublin. In Taichung and Vienna, the software has reportedly led to a reduction in travel times from 10-50%, a decrease in delays at junctions by up to 60% – meaning fewer vehicle stops, and up to 15% fewer emissions.

Under the UK government’s Plan for Drivers, money is being invested into an Intelligent Traffic Management Fund, allowing local authorities to deploy advanced technology for traffic control, using emerging technologies to optimise vehicle, bus, cycle and pedestrian flow and balance traffic across city centres.