The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) announced that a memorandum of understanding was signed for collaboration between DMAT, Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific and Inrix. Both are innovator companies in providing transport and navigation data to vehicles. According to the memo, the companies will be provided with traffic information about the roads condition, congestions, accidents and real-time information about parking bays on multi-level storey buildings. Such collaboration aids the government’s strategy that supports the cooperation and partnership with the private sector in which serves the public and improves the level of road safety.
Eng. Salah Al Marzouqi, Integrated Intelligent Transportation System Division Director, declared that the Department has accomplished the implementation of the first phase of the Transport Information and Navigation System project. This phase includes gathering data on Abu Dhabi transport network from traffic flow tracking systems and other transport management systems like: Taxis management system, Mawaqif, public buses management system and Abu Dhabi Airports system. Using verity of sources helps in the data analysis, measures the travel time and enables users to benefit from Darb Application and website and developing an engineering studies at the Department.
Al Marzouqi assured that the application was downloaded almost 100,000 times in which indicates its success. In addition, 86% of the users were satisfied with the services provided according to a survey that was conducted on March 2016. He also mentioned that the benefits expected from the first phase are: decreasing traffic congestion on the transport network and inform the users about available routes to reach desired destinations easily. Another benefit is to decrease the number of accidents by providing the users with renewable updated real-time information. This will help reducing the stress so drivers will be ready for any changes on the streets in which leads to avoiding congestions. Moreover, reducing the cost of information accessibility about transport network by reducing the time needed to get them, reducing the cost and the need of consultants to traffic engineering data gathering.
Whereas the current second phase includes traffic information dissemination of congestions, accidents and real-time information of parking bays on multi-storey buildings and provide them to navigation systems in vehicles.
Seeking mutual benefits, DMAT, Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific and Inrix signed the memo to expand the cooperation. Some benefits are expected to be achieved such as:
- The increase of level of road safety as the public will be notified of the congestions, accidents and weather condition.
- Providing the information on a navigation platform in the cars will limit the use of mobile phones while driving which is considered as the main cause of accidents.
- Expanding the current users’ platform through the application, website and adding more ways to information accessibility using other channels.
- There are some traffic information that the current traffic information system does not include. Therefore, DMAT is offered a great opportunity to be provided with such information using their GPS systems.
The Transport Information and Navigation System project depends on a smart and developed integrated platform that assists in the making of quick decisions to avoid congestions. In the following steps, it is expected to expand this project to cover all automotive manufacturers to assure the benefit of as much number of drivers as possible.
Such cooperation leads to the achievement of the plans that aim to develop the smart vehicles system in the transport infrastructure and self-driving cars. These are considered as one of the major global interests that most developed countries are focusing on to develop their transport system and increase the level of roads safety.
