Skip to main content

PTV manages Strasbourg’s traffic flow to improve air quality

PTV Group's signal control system has helped Strasbourg’s Eurométropole reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 8% and particulate matter by 9% in a project which set out to slash emissions by decreasing stop-and-go traffic along one of the city’s main arterial roads. The simulation also cut vehicle stops by 9%. Called PTV Epics, the software tool controlled the waiting times for all road users at the traffic lights, reducing 85% of all cases to 45 seconds, which would otherwise only apply to 35% of road
February 21, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
3264 PTV Group's signal control system has helped Strasbourg’s Eurométropole reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 8% and particulate matter by 9% in a project which set out to slash emissions by decreasing stop-and-go traffic along one of the city’s main arterial roads. The simulation also cut vehicle stops by 9%.


Called PTV Epics, the software tool controlled the waiting times for all road users at the traffic lights, reducing 85% of all cases to 45 seconds, which would otherwise only apply to 35% of road users.

Frédéric Reutenauer, project officer and vice president project management & services at PTV Group, said: “PTV software helps optimize signal control programs in order to minimize waiting times at traffic lights and thus reduce the number of stop-and-go waves. We used the traffic simulation software PTV Vissim to visualize the effect on traffic by analysing the traffic flow at six signalized intersections of Avenue de Colmar located south of Strasbourg.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • USDoT looks at the costs and potential benefits of connected vehicles
    October 26, 2017
    David Crawford looks at latest lessons learned from the trials of connected vehicles in the US. The progress of connected vehicle (CV) technologies takes centre stage among the hot topics highlighted in the September 2017 edition – the first since 2014 – of the ‘ITS Benefits, Costs and Lessons Learned’ survey from the US ITS Joint Program Office (JPO). The organisation is an arm of the US Department of Transportation (USDoT).
  • Aimsun assesses Spain V2X impact
    June 21, 2022
    An Aimsun project with C-Roads Spain to assess the impact of Day 1 V2X services has been completed: Aimsun senior transportation modeller Laura Torres explains some of the results
  • Report highlights community impact of new mobility options
    March 29, 2018
    Local authorities and communities must understand the impacts of the new mobility options and regulate to get the transport systems they want, according to a new report. Colin Sowman takes a look. Outside of the big cities plagued with congestion, the existing transportation system(s) often cope adequately, and the ongoing workload (maintenance, safety…) is more than enough to keep local transport authorities busy. Is it, therefore, a good use of public service employees’ time to keep abreast of the raft
  • Do buses need subsidies in congestion charging areas
    June 20, 2016
    David Crawford takes a look at the debate surrounding bus subsidies. Subsidies for public transport are a well-known and frequently-used policy tool directed at reducing the high environmental and social costs of peak-period traffic congestion. But at the end of last year the Swedish Centre for Transport Studies published a working paper entitled ‘Should buses still be subsidised in Stockholm?’ This concluded that the subsidy levels currently being applied in Stockholm could be nearly halved by setting bus