FLOATING VEHICLE DATA FOR NETWORK MANAGEMENT: A PILOT STUDY

For many years, the use of "floating" or "probe" vehicles, equipped with special units able to measure their location and speed, has been envisaged as a new data source for monitoring congestion and network performance. GPS and GSM units are now enabling such probe vehicles to be used in large numbers. This paper describes a pilot study on the use of this technique. FaberMaunsell and IT IS Holdings plc, the first provider of Floating Vehicle Data (FVD) for network monitoring in the United Kingdom, conducted the pilot on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government (THE ASSEMBLY). The study considered the potential of using FVD to support network management, particularly on trunk roads where other forms of detection are not installed. The study included: (1) monitoring speeds on key trunk routes; (2) looking at the performance of the network; and (3) examining trends in travel.