Bluetooth sensors show great savings in major highway project

Bluetooth traffic sensors installed on a four-lane highway in the Waikato region of New Zealand demonstrate significant journey time savings, according to a report by New Zealand engineering consultants Beca and the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Money well spent? The challenge of finding primary data.
October 16, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Bluetooth traffic sensors installed on a four-lane highway in the Waikato region of New Zealand demonstrate significant journey time savings, according to a report by New Zealand engineering consultants Beca and the 6296 New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Money well spent? The challenge of finding primary data.

To measure the effectiveness of the new expressway, Bluetooth sensors recorded traffic flows on the first stage of the Waikato Expressway for approximately three months before and after its opening. The sensors were configured to not only detect the journey time changes but also the relative proportion of traffic using the new and old routes.

The Bluetooth solution used by NZTA utilises BlipTrack sensors from Danish company 3778 Blip Systems installed in the road network. By anonymously tracking Bluetooth devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and hands-free installations in cars, it is possible to measure traffic flow and calculate journey time. This real time traffic flow data enables road authorities to proactively manage the road network to minimise delays and congestion.

BlipTrack sensors now cover over 600 km of state highway network on the North Island of New Zealand and are constantly being expanded.
Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Classification & Data Collection Networking & Communication Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • What actually happens if we do #FreetheMIBs?
    May 1, 2020
    Q-Free’s #FREEtheMIBs campaign highlights the use of manufacturer-specific data output, storage and communication protocols in traffic lights and ITS systems.
    Read More
  • Wi-Fi win-win for mass transit
    October 31, 2014
    David Crawford explores passenger and operator benefits of on-board Wi-Fi Urban commuters’ growing demand for continuous – and reliable - internet connectivity is spurring network operators into the rapid installation of high-grade Wi-Fi access on their surface and underground networks, as well as in their stations. Such moves are often a key part of strategies to maintain and increase ridership levels.
    Read More
  • ACE report: private sector and user-pay for English roads
    May 16, 2018
    It’s one minute to midnight for funding England’s roads, according to a timely new report - and the clock’s big hand is pointing to some form of user-pay solution, reports David Arminas. Is there any way out of future user-pay funding for England’s highway infrastructure? The answer is a resounding ‘no’, according to the recently-published report Funding Roads for the Future. The 25-page document by the London-based Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) calls for a radical rethink about how to
    Read More
  • How to outsmart the rat runners - use data
    June 12, 2023
    Proactively solving transport problems with powerful empirical evidence is appealing: Emily Bobis of Compass IoT explains how vehicle-generated data can be the missing link
    Read More

Highlighted Content