Skip to main content

Big data analytics identifies congestion increases

Iteris has completed and published the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) 2014 Level of Service Monitoring Report. The report was generated for speed-based congestion monitoring, utilising big data analytics in place of conventional in-field manual data collection for 205 miles of the 327 mile network. Use of big data analytics will be expanded in future monitoring cycles. Many agencies conduct congestion monitoring through manual data collection efforts. Agencies traditionally us
November 26, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
73 Iteris has completed and published the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) 2014 Level of Service Monitoring Report.  The report was generated for speed-based congestion monitoring, utilising big data analytics in place of conventional in-field manual data collection for 205 miles of the 327 mile network. Use of big data analytics will be expanded in future monitoring cycles.  

Many agencies conduct congestion monitoring through manual data collection efforts.  Agencies traditionally use floating car surveys to traverse a roadway with an on-board GPS device to record the travel time during peak hour conditions.  The previous process for Alameda CTC required up to eight travel time surveys, which were conducted at significant cost and only yielded a sample size of eight.  If unusually light or heavy traffic conditions were encountered from road incidents or inclement weather, the survey was repeated at additional cost. By using third party commercial traffic data sets the surveys are completed for a fraction of the cost and produce a sample size in the thousands.

Cost savings achieved through the use of commercial data allowed for the addition of performance monitoring on countywide HOV and express lanes, as well as three additional bridges between Alameda County and San Francisco.

Results of the report identified an increase in congestion in 2014 likely caused by the improving economy.  The monitored freeway network considered to be congested rose from 13 per cent to 15 per cent between 2012 and 2014.  However, significant improvements were observed on the freeway network near recently completed construction projects.

Saravana Suthanthira of Alameda CTC, project manager for this project, commented, “Iteris helped us achieve more comprehensive and robust monitoring results using commercial speed data as opposed to the previous floating car method.  We envision this study as the beginning of an exciting shift to more advanced data collection and analysis processes for transportation system performance monitoring in Alameda County.”

Alan Clelland, senior vice president, Transportation Systems at Iteris noted: “In the coming years, we believe there will be a shift from biannual congestion monitoring to continuous real-time monitoring processes that are integrated into core agency business activities.  Instead of a static report that is posted on an agency website, we anticipate interactive congestion monitoring with enhanced performance metrics, such as travel time reliability and enriched visualization.  Better performance measurement fosters better decision making when selecting improvements to the transportation network.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Flexibility, interoperability is key to future traffic management
    February 3, 2012
    Jon Taylor of Faber Maunsell and Tabatha Bailey of Transport for London describe how an unusual mix of traffic practitioners, researchers and industry are working together to build new tools for the future. As we face higher expectations for managing congestion from both citizens and politicians, and as more and more data is becoming available from new sources, our traffic management challenge is changing.
  • Traffic signal priority initiatives aid better bus travel
    March 15, 2012
    David Crawford investigates traffic signal priority initiatives developing for better bus travel on the US Pacific Coast Transit patronage rises by an average of 35% along commuter corridors equipped with bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA). BRT as defined as bus transit enhanced with ITS systems for better services, is winning new passengers attracted by opportunity to avoid increasing fuel costs and traffic congestion.
  • Inrix signals a strong performance
    December 7, 2021
    Inrix Signal Analytics uses data from connected cars to monitor every movement on the roadway without the need for additional costly equipment or time-consuming fieldwork.
  • Benefits of Florida's traffic signal retiming
    November 7, 2012
    Lee County in Florida has consolidated dramatic results of a major traffic signal retiming with installation of advanced monitoring and management technology for generating further benefits. The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT), in the US State of Florida, has completed retiming of traffic signals for over 50 intersections in the cities of Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. The project aimed to evaluate existing operations and enable adjustments to optimise flows, and has produced dramatic results