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

  • AI is creating road maintenance savings
    July 30, 2021
    Artificial intelligence is starting to create savings for hard-pressed local authorities when it comes to road maintenance. David Crawford reviews recent advances in cost and performance control
  • Improving traffic flow with automated urban traffic control
    April 25, 2012
    Alterations to traffic signals and variable message signs are being activated to reduce congestion as soon as it occurs, through a pioneering fully automatic UTC system. Jon Masters reports In the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley in England, strategies for dealing with traffic congestion have been devised from analysis of queue data, then made to work automatically: “This represents the future of ITS for urban traffic control,” says Siemens Consultancy Services senior engineer David Carr. Over a career span
  • DSRC? ‘It’s become a faith-based thing’
    March 2, 2021
    The US FCC’s decision on 5.9GHz led to Applied Information offering DSRC buybacks to DoTs. Bryan Mulligan tells Adam Hill that we now just need to get on and roll out CV technology...
  • Big data and GPS combine to cut emergency response times
    April 2, 2014
    David Crawford looks at technologies for better emergency medical service delivery. Emergency medical services (EMS) play key roles in transporting, or bringing treatment to, patients who become ill through medical emergencies or are injured in road traffic accidents (RTAs). But awareness has been rising steadily, in the US and elsewhere, of the extent to which EMS can generate their own emergencies. The most common cause is vehicles causing or becoming involved in RTAs, as a result of driving fast under pr