York PTV software
PTV's traffic management technology supports the Smart Travel program of the City of York, UK. Credit: © PTV Group.

The city of York in the UK is set to deploy PTV software for predictive traffic modelling in a bid to optimise traffic management.

The move is part of York’s Smarter Travel Evolution Program (STEP) as it seeks to alleviate traffic jams, reduce emissions and improve the reliability of the transport network.

PTV UK Director Devrim Kara said: “We are delighted that City of York Council is investing in strategic modelling with our trusted PTV software. We look forward to working with the Wood project team on this exciting and innovative project.”

Consultancy firm Wood will support the implementation of the project as the lead partner, while Relative Gap and PTV Group will support the government-backed initiative.

The team will work to design a live model of York’s traffic network, developed utilising information procured from different real-time data sources.

The strategic model will help in traffic optimisation, as well as in long-term decision making related to the local transport plan.

The city authority plans to use it to run simulations using historical data to identify an appropriate response strategy for handling planned and unplanned events.

City of York Council Transport, Highways and Environment assistant director James Gilchrist said: “These new strategic and real-time models will enhance York’s long-term plan for transport provision and provide more informed, robust business cases for the implementation of future projects, in compliance with transport analysis guidance.

“Cutting-edge real-time technology will be able to conduct traffic predictions up to sixty minutes into the future. This insight will facilitate smarter transport decision making, optimised traffic signal plans and better travel advice for road users across the historic city.”