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

  • Government unveils new measures to further improve road safety
    December 22, 2015
    The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has unveiled a raft of measures to improve the safety of Britain’s roads, including US$3 million for research into driver education, including the possibility of giving learner drivers motorway experience with an instructor before taking their test.
  • Two initiatives announced to cut road works disruption in London
    May 17, 2012
    A joint US$1.6 million fund to research and develop new technology to reduce the disruption caused by road works was announced yesterday by UK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Confirmation of a lane rental scheme for roadworks was also announced at the same time.
  • New system expedites border crossings
    October 28, 2016
    Enforcing border controls can create long queues for travellers, David Crawford looks at potential solutions. Long delays at border crossings in both North America and Europe have sparked the development of new queue visualisation and management technologies that are cutting hours, even days, off international passenger and freight journeys. At the westernmost end of the 2,019km (1,250 mile) Mexico–US frontier, two parallel crossings between Tijuana, in the former country, and the border city of San Diego,
  • Developing an integrated WIM/ANPR enforcement system
    July 31, 2012
    The weigh in motion market remains especially buoyant and technological development continues to reflect this. Although there are major differences in operating philosophies, particularly between developed and developing countries, both the numbers of countries using Weigh In Motion (WIM) technology and the numbers of systems that they deploy are on the increase.