Skip to main content

EU project tests new technologies in Madrid to improve traffic and travel information

Spanish technology group Indra is implementing the European R&D&i project Harmony, with the collaboration of research groups G@TV and TranSYT from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and with the support of Grupo Interbús and Spain's Traffic Department (DGT). The pilot study is being carried out in Madrid to develop new technologies to integrate real-time data from different transport operators and improve multimodal information services. The three-year project, developed with the Polytechnic University of
July 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Spanish technology group 509 Indra is implementing the European R&D&i project Harmony, with the collaboration of research groups G@TV and TranSYT from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and with the support of Grupo Interbús and Spain's Traffic Department (DGT). The pilot study is being carried out in Madrid to develop new technologies to integrate real-time data from different transport operators and improve multimodal information services.


The three-year project, developed with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, is part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, the 1690 European Commission's investment plan for developing transport infrastructures with the goal of completing the trans-European transportation network.

The Harmony project applies current European standards and state-of-the-art technologies to standardise, exchange and integrate data on public transportation in real time and data and information on road network traffic, as well as from other transportation organisations. Based on this data, it aims to develop new multimodal information services that will benefit both transportation operators and citizens and contribute to improving mobility management and information.

A collaboration between transport operator Grupo Interbús and DGT provides Interbus with real time statistical traffic data in standard formats, which will enable the testing of information exchange between public transportation and traffic to improve management and mobility and to offer citizens new, improved services. In addition, by integrating the information from Interbús into Indra's traffic management solution, the buses may be located graphically on a map of Madrid's different roads.

In a second phase, it is expected that DGT will join the pilot project to validate the real-time standardised information exchange. In addition to testing services for improving the city's mobility management and contributing toward a coordinated and speedy incident response, the pilot project is also considering offering new services, such alerts and multimodal route planning, in a third stage.

Once completed, the Harmony project will analyse the real impact that these applications and services could have on both transportation conditions as well as on operators' management and users' satisfaction.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • PTV launches latest Visum 15 software
    October 19, 2015
    The new release of PTV’s transport planning software, PTV Visum 15, is said to set new standards in multimodality and allow even more sustainable transport planning. New functions available in the software include the ability to analyse the demand, quantity and placement of park and ride (P+R) sites, enabling users to evaluate existing and future capacities. To allow users to model cycle and vehicle route-planning, PTV has enhanced the stochastic assignment so that path-level impedance elements can now be r
  • Smart parking for a smarter city says Beecham Research
    March 28, 2014
    Smart Parking could relieve congestion, reduce driver frustration, improve health and give a vital boost to the future of our cities, says Dr Therese Cory, the principal author of a new report from Beecham Research. Cities are centres for business, government and culture, attracting high volumes of workers and visitors. But today, the use of modern communications and information technology is enabling City authorities to explore new ways to make their cities work better. The Beecham report examines a nu
  • Init scoops passenger information project in Canada
    February 28, 2013
    In a contract worth US$59 million, German telematics specialist Init is to supply a fleet management system for iBus, one of the largest public transport projects in Canada currently being launched by Société de Transport de Montréal (STM). STM, the main transit authority in the second most important economic region in Canada is modernising and enhancing its operations over the next few years. At the heart of this is a fleet management and real-time passenger information system with state-of-the-art vehicle
  • Bronx benefits from mesoscopic-microscopic modelling
    January 7, 2014
    Michael Marsico, Andrew Weeks, Keir Opie and Murat Ayçin explain the application of hybrid traffic simulation to a planning study in New York City. Traffic modelling, particularly mesoscopic-microscopic hybrid simulation, has played a key role in planning for the future of one of America's shortest interstates, the 1.3-mile Sheridan Expressway. New York City has just completed a two-year, interagency study federally funded by a TIGER II grant on how to improve the Sheridan Expressway and its surroundi