Smart traffic measures desired to cut commute times

A new report has announced that 65 per cent of city-dwellers are frustrated with the levels of congestion in their city and desire smart city measures to improve traffic flow and commuter time.

Unsurprisingly, ATG Access found that Londoners were the most frustrated with traffic levels (76 per cent), followed by city dwellers of the South East (74 per cent) and the South West (68 per cent).

Furthermore, 75 per cent of those surveyed would like to see the implementation of smart traffic lights to respond in real-time to the volume of traffic on the roads, while 67 per cent expressed a strong desire for better traffic light control measures during busier times - indicating a clear need for the UK’s urban infrastructure to evolve to better meet the needs of the modern commuter.

Concerning easing traffic flow, just 37 per cent of those surveyed want to see more parking restrictions on busy roads and 40 per cent want dedicated cycling and bus lanes during busy times. In fact, 57 per cent of those surveyed admitted that they would be happy for a portion of their tax contributions to go towards smart traffic lights in their city.

Gavin Hepburn, managing director at ATG Access, said: “Our research has found a clear public desire for smart traffic control measures, which could ease the daily commute for millions of travellers every day. Smart city concepts such as responsive traffic flow measures - ranging from smart traffic lights, to programmable smart bollard systems which control traffic - can drive efficiency and drastically cut commuter times. Not only does this have the potential to save the economy £9 billion a year, measures such as these can also dramatically improve a cities’ level of air quality.”

The research forms part of ATG’s Smart cities: Turning the dream into a reality report.