Public transport buses can identify traffic jams

Public transport buses can identify traffic jams

On behalf of the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (Dresden public transport company), the chair used ERDF funding to investigate whether position data from public buses can be used to determine the traffic situation. It is clear that the vehicles must not move on special lanes for such an evaluation. The vehicles must also not be near bus stops and prioritized at traffic lights. If these conditions are met, the average speed of the vehicles can be recorded in a stable manner. When interpreting the traffic situation, the differentiation between congestion and dense traffic is feasible. Free-flowing traffic is identifiable, but cannot be differentiated into individual stages. The data availability of this random route-based recording depends on the number of lines and the frequency. The fact that the vehicle sequence is typically highest in the peak hours accommodates the intended use cases. DVB's internal monitoring can be upgraded and congestion information can be made available for Dresden's road traffic management.