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

  • Give offending drivers credit for good behaviour
    July 27, 2012
    Andrew Rooke and Dave Marples of Technolution B.V. take a look at what can be done to address a long-standing problem: the all-or-nothing approach of automated enforcement. To start, a brief history of speeding: on 14 November 1896, the first Veteran Car Run was staged in England from London to Brighton. It was organised to celebrate new British legislation to raise the maximum speed of vehicles from four to 14mph while also removing the need for a person waving a red flag to walk in front of the car and wa
  • The smart in smart parking
    March 29, 2018
    Whether you want to reduce congestion, increase parking revenue or reduce occupancy – or a mixture of all three – there is plenty of technology available. Andrew Bardin Williams considers the pros and cons. Drawn in by the promise of Smart City initiatives, communities across North America are embracing smart parking solutions in an effort to change citizens’ transportation behaviours for the better. They are doing this by using policy and ITS solutions to help de-incentivise parking for most people while
  • Why keeping count is so important for traffic management
    November 21, 2023
    Traffic engineers need to have multiple solutions in their toolbox to complete the most accurate and safe data collection programmes possible, explains Wes Guckert of The Traffic Group
  • Australian transport and technology innovation on show
    October 10, 2016
    The Adelaide-headquartered Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure has partnered with Sydac and Sage Automation to showcase South Australian transport and technology innovation, including the Addinsight freeway and arterial road incident detection and congestion management system. The system uses probe data collection stations to constantly monitor traffic flows in real-time. When road segments experiencing delays higher than expected are detected, the field devices automatically start broa