Skip to main content

City of Toronto to use traffic data to get Toronto moving

The City of Toronto is investing in the power of data to help understand how, where and when people travel and how the City can use this information to better assist the public in moving around Toronto. The city is creating a Big Data Innovation Team which will build on some of the current big data work of Transportation Services, including: developing a Big Travel Data strategy for Transportation Services to determine ways to make this type of information available; partnering with McMaster University
April 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The City of Toronto is investing in the power of data to help understand how, where and when people travel and how the City can use this information to better assist the public in moving around Toronto.

The city is creating a Big Data Innovation Team which will build on some of the current big data work of Transportation Services, including: developing a Big Travel Data strategy for Transportation Services to determine ways to make this type of information available; partnering with McMaster University to analyse historical travel data on city expressways and streets; working with the TTC to closely analyse surface transit data to identify operational improvements to further improve streetcar service; and releasing a report from the Cycling Unit of Transportation Services evaluating cycling travel patterns based on data collected from its cycling tracking app, showing the impacts of Cycletracks.

Mayor John Tory says the availability of travel data has improved dramatically over the past few years and is at a point where the City can, and should, be using it to better understand travel patterns, evaluate the City’s investments and monitor performance. “With this information, we can get Toronto moving smarter," he said. "This will be a game changer and will establish Toronto as a leader in running a truly smart city."

Related Content

  • Seleta Reynolds: 'Set a vision, listen to your people & then get out of their way'
    September 12, 2022
    Los Angeles, host of the 2022 ITS World Congress, is a city where the only constant is change, says Seleta Reynolds of LA Metro. Adam Hill finds out about leadership, dream jobs and the 2028 Olympics...
  • Programming a smoother commute
    January 18, 2013
    Work being carried out by the University of Toronto’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre could have a beneficial effect on the city’s congestion problems. Says Professor Baher Abdulhai of the Centre, "Everybody realises that we have a big congestion problem in Toronto and the scarier part is that it's getting worse, exponentially." One of the solutions he's working on is smarter traffic lights using artificial intelligence to control the flow of traffic. "Each traffic light would learn how to time i
  • Fara keeps data delivery simple
    January 25, 2018
    Simplifying the delivery of data and information gathered by traffic management, ticketing and other systems can improve travel efficiency and the traveller’s experience. Having quantified and analysed the previously unmonitored movement of road vehicles, trains, metros, cyclists and pedestrians, the ITS sector is a prime example of the digital world. Patterns discerned from those previously random happenings enable authorities to design more efficient transport systems, allow transport operators to run
  • Colorado DoT locates data-rich environment
    January 14, 2020
    Colorado DoT and Esri have been cooperating to unlock data’s potential. Jason Barnes finds out what that has to do with firing a howitzer at snowy mountains – and exactly why things that happened in the past point the way towards future proofing