Skip to main content

New consortium leads smart city initiative for Exeter

Exeter City Council and Devon County Council, working with a consortium led by IT services provider NTT Data, have unveiled a ground-breaking, two-year intelligent transport project for the area. Through the project, the group aims to identify solutions that will alleviate traffic congestion in and around Exeter, an historic city in the county of Devon, in south-west England. NTT Data will lead the consortium of traffic experts and specialist providers including Imtech Traffic & Infra, Vaisala, the Unive
December 10, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Exeter City Council and Devon County Council, working with a consortium led by IT services provider NTT Data, have unveiled a ground-breaking, two-year intelligent transport project for the area. Through the project, the group aims to identify solutions that will alleviate traffic congestion in and around Exeter, an historic city in the county of Devon, in south-west England.

NTT Data will lead the consortium of traffic experts and specialist providers including 6999 Imtech Traffic & Infra, 144 Vaisala, the University of Exeter and big data specialist Black Swan.

The Engaged Smart Transport project will use real-time traffic and weather sensor data, combined with other data sources such as eyewitness and behavioural information to better understand the factors affecting people’s travel behaviour. It will reveal where and why congestion happens and identify solutions to address these problems. The consortium has been awarded match funding by Innovate, the UK Government’s innovation agency.

Exeter is setting out a growth plan for the city that will deliver 12,000 new homes, 60 hectares of new business land and 40,000 square metres of new retail space by 2026. Increased population and commuter movement will add to pressures on infrastructure and public transport services. Exeter has a central population of 120,000 that already experiences daily congestion as well as one-off spikes caused by events.

The consortium believes that understanding how existing road capacity can be managed more effectively is critical for Exeter to deliver this growth. Taking an innovative approach to the use of existing and new data from a range of sources such as sensor technology, social media feedback and the latest traffic algorithm technology, the Engaged Smart Transport project will deliver insight into population movement and provide answers to real-world traffic issues.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • User based insurance is helping good drivers and identifying the bad ones
    November 28, 2013
    Thomas Hallauer gives an overview of Usage Based Insurance (UBI), an industry that is putting telematic devices into more vehicles than fleet management ever did. The insurance market is going through a transformation phase never seen before. Insurers have not only started to track individual cars for Usage Based Insurance (UBI), they are also using the technology to enhance consumer services as more drivers join up to these schemes. Progressive Insurance in the US has 1.4 million customers signed up to
  • An even more focused Vaisala
    March 28, 2013
    An important strategic task every company must do periodically is review products and make sure they match the goals and direction of the company. In March, Vaisala, the global weather solutions provider, concluded that three non-weather road transportation products no longer match its long term strategy, and thus sold these products to another company. Vaisala says the change will allow it to increase its already industry-leading innovations, such as the non-intrusive road weather sensors, and the Conditio
  • Indra to implement smart technology for Ecuador tram system
    December 10, 2015
    Indra is to provide the engineering, supply and implementation of tram priority and signage systems, along with access control and ticketing for the new tram system in Cuenca, the third-largest city in Ecuador. The system is currently under construction and is expected to begin operating in June 2016. It will be used by around 120,000 passengers a day, or 39 million a year. The aim is to incorporate the transport mode into the Integrated Mobility System, reduce the current levels of traffic and green
  • The ice man cometh
    August 7, 2018
    Extreme meteorological events have captured global headlines in recent years. Adam Hill talks to Vaisala’s Mark DeVries about what that means for transportation companies trying to keep roads clear. Extreme meteorological events have captured global headlines in recent years. Adam Hill talks to Vaisala’s Mark DeVries about what that means for transportation companies trying to keep roads clear