Be-Mobile has set up a digital platform for Ghent together with other partners from the Traffic Management-as-a-Service consortium. The city uses it to process traffic data and monitor traffic information in real-time. The platform brings together as much of the available mobility data as possible.
Analysis of that data provides useful information, both for those who manage mobility in a city and for the citizens and businesses counting on that mobility. TMaaS offers mobility officials a tool with which they can better follow traffic flows in the city. Residents and visitors get the opportunity to optimize their mobility.
“Follow-up of traffic is our core task,” says Tim Claeys of the Ghent Traffic Center (Verkeerscentrum Gent). “We do that proactively insofar as possible, for example by steering traffic through regulation of the traffic lights and dynamic information signs depending on roadworks or events. Sometimes, of course, we also have to intervene in real-time, for example when there is a traffic accident.
”Generally speaking, a lot of traffic data are available. This includes not just data from the traffic centre, but also data from parking companies, bicycle- and car-sharing companies, De Lijn and SNCB, companies such as TomTom and Be-Mobile, and so forth. “That makes the project unique,” Filip Watteeuw, alderman for mobility in Ghent, believes. “TMaaS brings together large and small companies from all sectors on mobility. Competitors work together on a project that brings out the best in everyone.”
TMaaS brings all that mobility data together in the cloud and bundles it into usable information. “TMaaS feeds our digital dashboard LINK.Gent,” explains Tim Claeys. “The dashboard provides up-to-date traffic information in real-time.” In addition, the information is multimodal. While most mobility platforms primarily give information for car drivers, LINK. Gent also offers information for pedestrians, cyclists and train, tram and bus users.
Source: Be-Mobile
Ghent is a pioneer city in terms of mobility management, deploying the concept of TMaaS. The concept has many of the elements discussed and agreed among traffic management public and private stakeholders in the ERTICO Innovation Platform TM2.0 on interactive traffic management. “Be-Mobile, an active member of TM 2.0 has succeed in putting in practice the concept of co-opetition as developed in TM 2.0, by cooperating with other traffic management service providers, such as TomTom another very active in TM 2.0 member, in following the traffic management priorities as these are set with the public authorities, while at the same time competing on quality in services provided to users”, said Johanna Tzanidaki, Director of Innovation & Deployment.
All mobility stakeholders in Ghent contribute to the multi-modal mobility platform for the benefit of the user and the city itself.
