INRIX > Case Studies > Transport Scotland Leverages Big Data for Improved Traffic Management

Transport Scotland Leverages Big Data for Improved Traffic Management

Technology Category

Networks & Connectivity - Bluetooth
Sensors - GPS

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Maintenance

Use Cases

Traffic Monitoring
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

Services

System Integration
Training

The Customer

Transport Scotland

About The Customer

Transport Scotland is Scotland’s National Transport Agency responsible for the country's transport system. The agency oversees the operation and maintenance of the railways and trunk road networks, ferries, canals, and aviation services. It also develops transport projects, provides transport policy, and delivers the National Transport Strategy. The agency's goal is to ensure safe, efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable transport for all residents and visitors in Scotland. To achieve this, Transport Scotland leverages technology and data to improve its services and operations.

The Challenge

Transport Scotland was seeking to improve its real-time traffic information and network management capabilities. The agency was interested in third-party big data sources but found that many providers only offered access to the data without a user-friendly interface for extracting value from it. The challenge was to find a solution that not only provided access to comprehensive traffic data but also offered an easy-to-use platform for analyzing this data. The agency was also looking to reduce its reliance on roadside infrastructure for traffic monitoring, which was concentrated in densely populated areas and lacked coverage in more remote parts of the country.

The Solution

Transport Scotland adopted INRIX Roadway Analytics, a turnkey analytics platform that provides access to a vast global traffic dataset. The dataset is largely based on floating vehicle data from various sources, including in-car GPS and smartphones. The platform allowed Transport Scotland to extract meaningful data from the first day without any additional training, software, or hardware. The agency used the new data source in three main areas: real-time monitoring of journey times and network conditions, assessing proposed road schemes, and responding to information queries about the performance of Scotland’s strategic road networks. The platform also enabled the agency to establish traffic conditions or journey times on any part of the network at any given time in the past, a task that was previously impossible.

Operational Impact

The adoption of INRIX Roadway Analytics has resulted in several operational benefits for Transport Scotland. The agency can now deliver faster and more accurate responses to information requests about traffic conditions or journey times. The system's ability to reveal historic traffic speeds/journey times across any part of the network has significantly improved the agency's traffic monitoring capabilities. The platform's configurable functionality has also made it easier for the agency to assess proposed road schemes and evaluate the benefits of deployed schemes. Furthermore, the use of floating vehicle data has proven to be more reliable and indicative of actual traffic conditions than fixed infrastructure. The agency is now considering decommissioning some of its roadside equipment, which will reduce maintenance costs and health and safety risks associated with roadside maintenance.

Quantitative Benefit

Access to a vast global traffic dataset without the need for additional infrastructure and ongoing maintenance cost.
Ability to extract meaningful data from the first day without any additional training, software, or hardware.
Capability to establish traffic conditions or journey times on any part of the network at any given time in the past.