Cisium: New Traffic Control Centre

Implementing sustainable mobility

Bologna is developing a new traffic control centre named Cisium that will eventually manage traffic in the entire metropolitan area.

The main objectives of the measure are to:

• Improve traffic control in the urban area;
• Provide real-time traffic information for citizens through different channels; and
• Provide the municipality’s technicians with better traffic planning tools.

The new control centre will take advantage of innovative communication tools based on the TMC-DATEX protocol. It will facilitate sending messages on the traffic situation in real-time via car radios, onboard GPS navigation devices and to other traffic operators like the motorway control centre. The system will also feed into a database that will let the city develop a detailed traffic model that will help technicians to manage traffic and promptly react to congestion based on empirical data. Bologna has already started the development of the new traffic control centre and will complete it under CIVITAS MIMOSA.

How is the measure progressing

The development of the new intelligent transport system (ITS) for the traffic control centre is almost completed. A detailed scientific study provided a traffic model and scenario analysis. This was followed by traffic model and algorithm analyses to identify and define several technical aspects in the framework of Cisium. A study on the TMC protocol was carried out, as well. Based on these insights, the ITS was developed. The control centre entered an extensive testing period, during which bugs and other issues were addressed and the algorithm was fine-tuned. Parameter tuning remains an ongoing task.

Technicians of the municipality recently designed a project to integrate data from the traffic control centre on traffic flows into Google maps. The necessary software has been developed and the city signed an agreement with Google. Bologna is now the first city in Italy that provides a traffic service on Google maps.

The municipality is now working on data collection for evaluation, and a dissemination campaign will inform road users about the new system and results obtained. Indicators are based on traffic flow monitoring with ITS instruments and desktop research. A cost-benefit analysis will be part of the evaluation. Traffic models and scenarios will need to be continuously amended. In September 2010, Bologna received an award for the traffic technologies it implemented at the CIVITAS Awards ceremony in Malmo.

What are the expected results of the measure

The expected results of the measure are:

>> An optimisation of traffic management;
>> A measurable decrease of waiting times at traffic lights; and
>> A measurable increase in the prioritisation of public transport buses.

Contact: Fabio Cartolano