LNP: Real-Time travel app to help reduce Brisbane traffic congestion

[ozbob]

https://www.teamquirk.com.au/real-time-travel-app-to-help-reduce-brisbane-traffic-congestion/

Real-Time travel app to help reduce Brisbane traffic congestion

A re-elected Team Quirk will deliver Queensland's first hands-free congestion beating phone app to boost its commitment for real action on traffic congestion, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced today.

The app will help motorists avoid traffic accidents and peak hour congestion by identifying issues in the network as they occur, under the innovative plan announced by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk today.

The Lord Mayor said Team Quirk had already made significant investment into improving and upgrading Brisbane's road network, but said that more was needed to keep Brisbane on the right track.

"Right across Brisbane, Team Quirk is taking real action on traffic congestion as part of our reliable five point plan. In addition to the 90 road projects we will deliver, this app will be an innovative approach to cut congestion at traffic accidents and during peak hour," Cr Quirk said.

"The app will be a vital tool to help motorists plan their journey in real time and make them aware of traffic issues as they emerge."

Council's traffic network centre will deliver live updates to the app and voice alerts will help commuters to avoid traffic hotspots.

Currently a number of other mapping providers, including Google, utilise historic data and information based on motorists currently using their application. This provides average and estimated travel times, but this does not reflect to-the-minute delays or emerging issues across the network.

"Right across Brisbane, we're taking real action on traffic congestion. As part of our plan, we will upgrade the Inner City Bypass, Telegraph Road, Wynnum Road, Waterworks Road, Murphy Road and Green Camp Road, Progress Road and Paradise Road.
"This app will further boost our plan with innovative use of technology to ensure we're leaving no stone unturned."

Cr Quirk said the app followed on from Brisbane's Australia-first Bluetooth traffic data project and would utilise the cutting edge data gathered through Brisbane's traffic network centre which monitors the region's road network.

"Data is gathered through Bluetooth receivers at every single signalised intersection across the city and at other major traffic points across the network," Cr Quirk said.

"Close to four million travel time records are collected every day by vehicles travelling between receiver points, providing immediate indications of travel times on every major and minor road."

[bcasey]

Yet another government department making their own app  . If they wanted to support innovation, they should instead provide the bluetooth data and other data sources as open data, and allow 3rd party developers come up with countless different ideas of how to use it. Instead, if they provide this app for free without ads, it will hinder innovation, since it removes a number of different business models for developers to use to fund their app development.

I hope they intend on using more than just bluetooth data to calculate the congestion. While it is definitely a very useful data source, it does have certain biases, and relying on a single data-source is never a good idea.

[red dragin]

• Google Maps Traffic
• Waze

To name a few.

Politicians reinventing a wheel that has already been around for a while in the private sector. Just make that data available to the above to improve their already good systems (Waze is obsessive with finding the quickest route!)

[Derwan]

Every "live" GPS device has done this for several years.

Google Maps does it despite what the release says.  (Was that a blatant lie or an uninformed advisor?)

Council is responsible for ensuring that the information is correct and up-to-date.  A BCC traffic app is not necessary.

[verbatim9]

Seems like a waste of money

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

Idiotic, perhaps reflects the desperation that Quirk et al. campaign is now ..

[Derwan]

If you have an iPhone....

"Hey Siri, what's the traffic like?"

[techblitz]

If they wanted to support innovation, they should instead provide the bluetooth data and other data sources as open data, and allow 3rd party developers come up with countless different ideas of how to use it.

spot on bcasey.........look what london app developers have access to....

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/open-data-users/our-feeds?intcmp=3671