Skip to main content

UK government awards funding for transport technology projects

The UK government has awarded funding of US$4.9 million (£4 million) for technology projects that will cut congestion, speed up journeys and clean up the environment. Nineteen councils across England will receive between US$62,000 (£50,000) US$374,000 (£300,000) each for their ideas to improve journeys through digital innovation. The government money will be spent on developing cutting edge technology such as apps and sensors which can be used to cut congestion, improve parking in city centres and ale
February 23, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The UK government has awarded funding of US$4.9 million (£4 million) for technology projects that will cut congestion, speed up journeys and clean up the environment.

Nineteen councils across England will receive between US$62,000 (£50,000) US$374,000 (£300,000) each for their ideas to improve journeys through digital innovation.

The government money will be spent on developing cutting edge technology such as apps and sensors which can be used to cut congestion, improve parking in city centres and alert drivers when electric car charging points become available.

Successful bidders include: Blackpool which will use Bluetooth technologies to cut traffic congestion; Dorset to provide advance congestion warnings for drivers on the A31 using an app; and Warrington to provide real-time information to businesses and public through on-street information displays, social media and phone apps.

Coventry will also receive funding for a real-time bay availability system across 450 pay and display parking spots, while Westminster, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham were awarded funding to roll out a new generation of electric vehicle charge points which will provide real-time data to motorists when they are available. Peterborough also received funding for digital technology to provide real time journey information directly to visually impaired people.

Related Content

  • May 10, 2016
    Swedish city optimises disabled parking
    Swedish city Linköping has introduced an innovative solution to enable drivers to locate available parking bays for motorists with disabilities. The designated parking bays, spread over 23 parking areas across the city, are equipped with Nedap’s wireless in-ground Sensit sensors which detect the occupancy status of each individual parking bay in the street and the parking duration. The sensors, which Swarco Sweden integrated with the city’s LinPark parking app, process occupancy data in real-time and dis
  • January 25, 2012
    Smartphone - the next technology for charging and tolling?
    With all the debates over the most suitable future technology or technologies for charging and tolling, is it not time for the industry to look at what the rest of ITS is doing and bring a rank outsider - the smart phone - closer into the fold? By Jack Opiola, D'Artagnan Consulting LLC
  • April 9, 2014
    ITS homes in on cycling safety
    A new generation of ITS equipment is helping road authorities get to grips with cycle safety – and not a moment too soon as Colin Sowman discovers. Cyclists - remember them? Apparently not. At least not according to the OECD 2013 report Cycling, Health and Safety which contains the statement: ‘Cyclists are often forgotten in the design of the road traffic system’. Looking through the statistics that exist (each country appears to compile them differently) it is not difficult to see how such a conclusion cou
  • November 29, 2018
    Nearly 40% of UK councils need more funding for parking and transport programmes, says Passport
    More than a third of UK councils say they receive inadequate funding for parking and public transportation programmes, according to software provider Passport. This figure is from Passport’s report - Solving the UK’s Traffic Challenges – which was discussed at a roundtable event in London this week. It took findings from two independent studies which Passport carried out as part of its launch in the UK. One polled 1,000 UK motorists while the other surveyed over 50 council employees working within p