Traffic and travel information for freight operators

Summary

As an incentive to adopt cleaner vehicle technology, the provision of a customised information service for freight operators was linked to their willingness to use more energy efficient vehicles in the urban area.

Implementing sustainable mobility

Prior to measure implementation, a limited amount of traffic information was available to freight operators and other transport system users through a variety of media: on-street signs, Internet, mobile phone technology, and radio and television. The premium customised service being offered would draw on real-time information available through Norfolk’s integrated Urban Traffic Control Centre.

The main objectives were to:

• assess freight operators’ willingness to participate in such a project;
• establish freight user needs and priorities with regard to service information;
• encourage a number of freight operators to adopt clean urban principles in return for user information; and
• assess the benefits and problems encountered by operators with respect to the user information and the adoption of clean urban principles.

Progress

Determining operators’ interest in the freight measures involved:

• setting up a web-based virtual exhibition;
• placing adverts for the website in logistics magazines;
• writing directly to 700 operators (locally and nationally) asking them to visit the site; and
• creating a downloadable reply form enabling operators to express an interest.

Work was undertaken with the two most interested operators to identify their traffic and travel information needs and develop a customised viewer that could be used by operators of heavy goods vehicles. The viewer allowed access via the Internet to specific real-time traffic and travel information held in the database of Norfolk’s integrated Urban Traffic Control Centre.

Outcomes

The following key findings were identified.

• Traffic and travel information can help with the planning of delivery routes before and during deliveries.
• A sufficient level of detail about road conditions is required in order to determine whether or not it is beneficial to avoid a particular stretch of road.
• An added benefit would be the provision of traffic information backed by other information such as the most appropriate routes for heavy goods vehicles and the locations of weight/width/height restrictions on the road network.
• The provision of traffic and travel information alone has benefits and does not necessarily need to be linked to a requirement for information receivers to adopt cleaner urban principles.