Skip to main content

DfT launches fund for councils to improve road travel using new technology

A US$2.5 million (£2 million) fund to allow councils to capitalise on emerging technologies and deliver better journeys for motorists has been launched by the UK Department for Transport (DfT). Local authorities have been to apply for a share of the money to develop projects to greatly enhance journeys. Proposals include using technology that will allow vehicles communicate with each other and roadside sensors to provide drivers with real-time traffic information. Councils will also look at how warnin
August 12, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A US$2.5 million (£2 million) fund to allow councils to capitalise on emerging technologies and deliver better journeys for motorists has been launched by the UK 1837 Department for Transport (DfT).

Local authorities have been to apply for a share of the money to develop projects to greatly enhance journeys. Proposals include using technology that will allow vehicles communicate with each other and roadside sensors to provide drivers with real-time traffic information.

Councils will also look at how warnings about changing weather and traffic conditions can be sent directly to vehicles, so drivers can plan ahead - helping deliver quicker, more efficient and safer journeys.

Councils across England will have until the end of September to apply for the funding. Bids are expected to range between US$39,000 (£30,000) and US$389,000 (£300,000) and councils are expected to provide at least five per cent of their project’s cost.

They have until 5pm on Friday 30 September 2016 to submit their bids and successful councils will be revealed in November. Schemes would be expected to complete by March 2018.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Connected vehicle technology the solution to safety?
    January 25, 2012
    A series of 'driver clinics' is under way across five states, as vehicle manufacturers and the US Government pin their hopes on connected vehicles becoming the next big advance in road safety. Pete Goldin reports. What would a car say if it could talk? Its first words might be: "Here I am". Many vehicles are communicating that very message to each other right now. Admittedly, this is in controlled environments of US Department of Transportation (USDoT) tests, but within the next few years 'connected vehicle
  • 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
  • Technology holds the key to painless parking
    March 21, 2014
    Parking has been the most innovative of all the transportation sectors in the past five years. Richard Harris, Solution Director, Xerox Services outlines some of the key drivers and trends
  • Technology holds the key to painless parking
    March 21, 2014
    Parking has been the most innovative of all the transportation sectors in the past five years. Richard Harris, Solution Director, Xerox Services outlines some of the key drivers and trends