Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a £6.5 million contract to Sopra Steria to work with it on the development of new software for its control centre.
Compared with current systems, the software should be able to handle signficantly more data on factors such as congestion, bus performance, weather and road works, and to give everybody managing the road network a single, unified view of activity, including up-to-the-minute details of all known incidents and actions taken.
TfL said it will be able to analyse multiple sources of information to generate rapid incident alerts for TfL staff and other relevant organisations such as the emergency services, local authorities and companies providing routing advice to road users.
A spokesperson told UKAuthority that the authority opted for a bespoke system after a procurement process that emphasised the final requirements rather than whether it should be specially designed or an already available product. The indications of what the new system could achieve were closer to its requirements.
There is no firm schedule for its delivery, although it is expected to take place in stages.
TfL will own the system once the work is complete.
Complete overhaul
Glynn Barton, TfL’s director of network management, said: “We’re working to completely overhaul the way we manage London’s road network as we tackle some of the biggest challenges our growing city faces, such as poor air quality, road danger and congestion.
“Our world leading work with Sopra Steria will enable us to respond to incidents on the roads much more quickly, keeping the roads safe and clear and helping to keep London moving.”
The agreement is part of TfL’s wider strategy to transform the way it manages its road network. The Surface Intelligent Transport Systems (SITS) programme is using new technology to get the most out of the road network, increasing reliability and helping to reduce congestion.
In June 2018, TfL awarded a contract to Siemens to develop and install new real time optimiser technology across London to improve its ability to control its traffic lights in response to real life incidents and conditions.
Image from TfL
