Yunex Traffic, a provider in intelligent traffic systems, will expand its HERE-powered journey time as a service (JTaaS) solution to Scotland. In Edinburgh, the company will install 62 corridors to monitor journey times throughout the city. Until now, more than 200 corridors in 12 municipalities across the UK and Ireland had been installed since the launch of JTaaS in 2021.
JTaaS can calculate the journey time on a given corridor and display this to road users. It also gives traffic authorities better insights into the flow of traffic, enabling them to make better informed decisions about the management of traffic.
To do so, the solution uses HERE real-time traffic and HERE routing. HERE real-time traffic delivers up- to-the-minute information about traffic flow and incidents that could cause delays, including slower than normal traffic flow, road works and accidents. Based on this information, HERE Routing provides accurate estimated times of arrival (ETAs).
Faster to implement, easier to maintain: benefits of JTaaS over traditional approaches
Traditionally, fixed infrastructure such as ANPR cameras and, more recently, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensors have been used to determine journey times along key corridors. But the installation of this fixed hardware is time intensive and can be challenging. Since it requires a project team to design the solution, to get approvals from the relevant road authorities and finally to go out on site for installing the hardware it can take anywhere from 3-6 months. In contrast, a new corridor can be configured in Yunex Traffic’s Stratos Software solution in under ten minutes.
Additional maintenance costs also need to be taken into account. In contrast, JTaaS is more sustainable as it doesn’t require any extra hardware. Its underlying data derives from vehicles and other devices which are already in use for other purposes. Moreover, JTaaS doesn’t require road closures to install and maintain equipment which would cause traffic delays and increased vehicle emissions. In addition, the solution also offers greater flexibility for municipalities as they can easily change the corridors they would like to observe and measure, e.g. in case of special events such as marathons.
Wilke Reints, managing director of Yunex Traffic in the UK, says “Our JTaaS solution is already in operation with councils across the UK, with Edinburgh being the latest to adopt it. Working closely with our colleagues at HERE, we’re delighted with the results that all the installations are delivering, leading to reduced journey times, less congestion and improved air quality.”
“Managing traffic more sustainably is one of the key mobility challenges of our times. Journey time as a service is a great example for how data-driven solutions can help to make traffic flow more efficiently, allow for municipalities to anticipate congestion to offer alternative routes in a timely fashion, and inform drivers about expected journey times”, says Gino Ferru, SVP and general manager EMEA at HERE Technologies. “It’s great to see Yunex Traffic expanding the footprint of its HERE-powered solution to Scotland with the biggest installation globally to date in Edinburgh. We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration and bringing journey time as a service to more countries and cities.”
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