IET: Local Authorities Can Use IT To Cut Transport Costs

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) have released a guide for local authorities, detailing ways technologies such as smart devices, big data analytics and cloud computing can help improve transport services and cut costs.

The Local authority guide to emerging transport technology is intended to help ensure that local government bodies make the right procurement decisions for their needs, and avoid investment in technology that will become obsolete in the short term, according to the IET.

Efficiency

“Recent advances in transport technologies offer excellent opportunities for local authorities to deliver transport services more effectively and efficiently – but there are a number of barriers to overcome, from lack of awareness of what is possible to the need for new, more flexible procurement,” said Alison Carr, IET’s director of governance and policy, in a statement.

The technologies examined in the guide include smartphone apps for determining road and cycle-path conditions, Bluetooth systems allowing transport operators and planners to analyse journeys in near real-time, smart street lighting and electric buses. The guide also examines issues such as open standards, security and privacy that must be addressed in implementing systems.

Data security

Data sharing between different authorities is seen as key to integrating and automating systems, according to the guide, but must be carried out with appropriate security and privacy protections in place.

The guide includes case studies including a collaboration between Sunderland City Council and the Met Office for delivering a transport and weather information project intended to reduce traffic snarls, and a Hampshire County Council project using smart street lighting and signange that reduced CO2 emissions by 4,000 tonnes.

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