Skip to main content

TfL upgrades transport planning tool

Transport for London (TfL) has upgraded WebCAT, its online planning tool for showing how well-connected a location is in terms of transport. It includes a range of new data to help the city’s planners design the housing and business developments of the future. As well as previously released information such as the levels of public transport by location and journey time, the latest version of WebCAT now includes heat maps which show users how well-connected an area is, not only by public transport but no
January 19, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
1466 Transport for London (TfL) has upgraded WebCAT, its online planning tool for showing how well-connected a location is in terms of transport. It includes a range of new data to help the city’s planners design the housing and business developments of the future.

As well as previously released information such as the levels of public transport by location and journey time, the latest version of WebCAT now includes heat maps which show users how well-connected an area is, not only by public transport but now also by cycling infrastructure.

Users can also determine travel times from any location in London, including the number of people, jobs, town centres, health services and schools within specified travel time bands.

New comparisons between different scenarios such as cycling and public transport on today’s transport network and that of the future are also available.

The upgraded tool, developed with digital creative agency Mando, now lets users see how many town centres, GP surgeries, accident and emergency departments and schools are reachable from a selected location. It has also been updated to include population and employment information, helping to show how many jobs can be reached from a selected location by public transport. By including this data, planners can quickly assess the viability of any new housing and shopping developments by showing how many people are within a short or long commute of the selected location.

Related Content

  • March 8, 2023
    Aimsun solutions support new planning tool for low-carbon mobility
    The EU-funded HARMONY research project is behind a new planning tool to support sustainable transport policymaking. Aimsun scientific researcher Lampros Yfantis explains the key role of traffic simulation with Aimsun Ride in planning for on-demand mobility and logistics services
  • May 29, 2014
    The role of GIS in climate change resiliency
    Climate change will pose global and local challenges and that includes risks to the transportation infrastructure. Climate change adaptation and resiliency has captured the attention of the transportation community for some time now. Because transportation infrastructure is often designed to last for 30, 50, or 100 years or even longer, transportation professionals are concerned not only about the impact on our existing investments, but also how to design more durable transportation systems for the future
  • August 18, 2015
    Inrix aids authorities in dealing with data
    New traffic data products and services have been launched to aid transport and urban planners and business with detailed intelligence on journey patterns, reports Jon Masters. Manual travel surveys ought soon to become a thing of the past for transport planners and the business community. The technology now exists for getting sophisticated levels of traffic and trip data from connected vehicles. Cars and commercial fleets carrying a GPS device, or a mobile phone or smartphone are the sources of the informat
  • June 3, 2013
    TfL launches Countdown digital information signs
    Following a successful trial in London, Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new Countdown digital sign service, providing a new way to deliver tailored live bus arrival information cheaply and effectively to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms, schools or shopping centre foyers. The trial demonstrated the signs worked well, delivering clear, easily accessible information about local bus services, utilising existing IT and display equipment in public locations.