Regional Traffic Control Centres

Contents

Regional Traffic Control Centres

Foreword

by John Watts, Minister for Railways, Roads and Local Transport

England's 6,500-mile motorway and trunk road network is vital both to the economy and to individual motorists. Traffic volumes are continuing to grow and it is estimated that by the year 2025 demand could almost double.

At the same time, the resources and space available for building and improving roads are limited, so we will have to concentrate on getting the best use out of our existing infrastructure.

I am determined to investigate every opportunity of minimising the effects of traffic congestion. One of the best ways of achieving this is to develop more sophisticated traffic-management techniques, so I am proposing the introduction of Regional Traffic Control Centres (RTCCs). These will monitor traffic conditions over wide areas of the country and provide ever-improving driver information and traffic-management services to road users.

In order to achieve maximum value for money for the taxpayer, I have decided to investigate taking the RTCC Initiative forward as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project. We have already seen the energy and innovation which private enterprise can bring through Design, Build, Finance and Operate roads - and I am keen to extend these benefits to the network management programme.

I have therefore decided to launch a consultation exercise with all interested parties in order to identify the best way of delivering RTCCs and to find out whether industry is in favour of our approach. These pages explain the need for RTCCs, their intended functions, the business opportunities for bringing the initiative forward, and my plans for progressing the consultation process.

RTCCs represent an exciting step for the future of our trunk roads and motorways. It therefore gives me great pleasure to invite you to join me in exploring their potential and generating innovative ideas for meeting the traffic-management challenge.

Foreword

Making better use of the trunk road network

Overview

The 6,500-mile trunk road network - which includes 2,000 miles of motorway - accounts for less than 4% of England's roads, yet is used for a third of all road journeys and half of all lorry journeys.

Forecasts show that this level of pressure is likely to grow and that traffic could almost double by the year 2025 if demand for road space is unconstrained. At the same time, the resources and space available to build and improve roads are limited. It is therefore important to get the best out of the existing network.

One of the best ways of achieving this is to introduce more sophisticated traffic control and network management techniques. At present, the trunk road network is only congested for limited periods of time. This is due either to peaks in demand, when a great many motorists want to use the same length of road at the same time, or because of temporary lane restrictions caused by accidents or road works.

Improved driver information can help to alleviate congestion by providing motorists with details of current and expected road conditions and real-time - or 'as it happens' - advice on the best route to take. If only a small percentage of motorists can be encouraged to use alternative, less-congested routes, or travel at a different time, or not travel at all, then the benefits could be significant to everyone.

The change in emphasis from road-building to network management is reflected in the Green Paper Transport - the Way Forward, which recognises possibilities for making better use of the existing network at lower cost. Our Road User's Charter - part of the Citizen's Charter initiative - sets out the need to develop quality-of-service indicators which will enable us to measure the network's performance in terms of congestion, journey-time reliability and safety.

One of the key objectives of our network control policy is:

"to deliver a reliable level of service to users of the trunk road system by deployment of traffic control systems and the provision of high-quality advice and information to drivers both before and during their journey."

(HA Business Plan 1996/97)

Our strategy for managing and controlling traffic is to:

The road user's needs

A recent Highways Agency driver survey showed that:

Road users are not always fully aware of the extent or effect of congestion upon their journeys. There is considerable demand for relevant and reliable traffic information to enable motorists to choose the best route for their journey.

Existing arrangements

Driver information services are already provided by both the private and public sectors. These include variable message signs (VMSs), radio broadcasts and in-car systems. But there is scope for considerable improvement.

New intelligent transport systems and improved information services are being developed. These include: navigation and route-guidance systems; systems to give drivers new types of information; and new ways of presenting information more clearly, to meet the road user's specific needs.

Each of these systems and services will require an up-to-date source of high-quality traffic information for a market which is just developing and has considerable growth potential.

Network management

The present - tactical network management

Tactical network management involves controlling traffic in response to localised incidents and conditions. This function is carried out by 32 police control offices (PCOs). Their role is to ensure motorists' safety by enforcing road-traffic regulations and managing traffic during incidents. Current tactical control facilities include:

An extensive communications network, comprising copper and some optical fibre links, is used to connect all of the above systems and equipment.

Tactical traffic-management has meant that signal- and sign-switching have been controlled locally and are largely based on information about conditions on the local network. This structure works well where a quick response to incidents is required for safety reasons and the resultant traffic effects are localised. However, there is a need to deal with incidents and conditions which have an effect over a wider area.

The future - strategic network management

A more strategic approach to network management would help motorists to avoid delays by giving them information about congestion while they are still a relatively long distance from the problem - or even before congestion occurs.

We commissioned a study to look at the optimum structure for strategic traffic-management and this considered a range of possibilities. The study concluded that the most effective solution would be a two-tier structure consisting of:

This hierarchy offers the advantages of:

How would strategic management work?

Drivers on the M20 in Kent heading for Birmingham are faced with a number of route options. They can use the M25 clockwise to the M40, or anti-clockwise to the M1 and M6. The differences between these routes in non-congested conditions are small - around ten minutes' travel time and around ten miles' distance.

Should congestion occur - perhaps due to a major accident on the M25 - then the equation could alter significantly. By giving motorists information on the preferred route - through VMS and in-car systems - before they reach the congested area and while they can take alternative routes, a good deal of time, environmental pollution, accidents and frustration could be saved.

However, directing all of the traffic on to one single diversion route is not always the best answer - it may just move the problem from one part of the network to another, creating even worse congestion.

Strategic management therefore requires information on traffic conditions over much of the network, including alternative routes. Computer models can be used to predict what traffic conditions will be like in several hours' time, so that motorists can be warned via VMS and in-car information services.

Strategic management systems using VMS are already being put in place in Kent and in the London-Birmingham-Nottingham triangle, known as the Midlands Driver Information System.

Looking to the future

Many changes will occur in the way traffic is controlled on the road network as we head into the next century and beyond.

At present - and for the foreseeable future - the Highways Agency is focusing its activities on making the best use of the existing trunk road network. This can be done by improving the management and control of traffic in busy sections of the network and providing drivers with better advice and information to help them make decisions about their journeys.

In the longer term, a number of technological advances may arise. These may include 'intelligent roads' - which navigate vehicles automatically along routes without the need for driver intervention. Even so, information on network conditions would still have a significant role to play.

Any new initiative will need to be flexible enough so that it can be developed and adapted to support these changes as they take place.

Summary

By introducing strategic traffic management we will be able to provide motorists with information and advice about traffic conditions and the best action to take to avoid congestion. This will reduce accidents, delays and pollution.

Making better use of the trunk road network

Regional Traffic Control Centres (RTCCs)

The RTCC Initiative

The RTCC Initiative aims to provide for the strategic management of England's trunk road network into the next century. It would combine the best new technologies and skills available from the public and private sectors - and create a new opportunity for providing the following core services:

Traffic-monitoring and strategic traffic control

This would involve providing driver information and re-routing advice on VMS and other information services across several PCO areas. The RTCC would have the flexibility to adopt new functions and systems as they become applicable and available.

Providing this service would involve:

Data for the motorway network would come primarily from existing systems installed in PCOs. Data for the rest of the trunk road network would come from a dedicated network of sensors and from external traffic reports - including those from the private sector - to identify trouble-spots and areas where spare capacity exists.

As a minimum, monitoring will be required on every link of the network and at every junction. Approximately 2,000 sites are required to cover the English trunk road network. Not all of these are currently equipped and so the provision and installation of extra sensors would form part of the RTCC operator's function.

The RTCC would collate all traffic data into a knowledge base, which would provide a coherent picture of conditions over the whole network.

Provision of driver information - the traffic information highway (TIH)

Motorists must receive consistent driver information and advice - whichever information source they use - in order to minimise the wider impact of incidents, roadworks and recurrent congestion. To achieve this, RTCCs would make information available via a traffic information highway, from which all driver information service-providers would be able to access the data.

The TIH would use 'open' standards for communications and a standard 'language' for describing road conditions. This is currently being developed through the European Union's DRIVE research programme.

Initially, the TIH would be used to give driver information service-providers access to omprehensive real-time data for the trunk road network. Eventually the facility could expand to include information from other - non-Highways Agency - road authorities and travel modes. This would stimulate the provision of new services and, by the introduction of a charging mechanism, initiate a market for traffic data.

RTCCs would also support the Highways Agency Information Line, which gives advice to motorists on current traffic conditions, incidents and roadworks on the trunk road network.

Emergency roadside telephone call-handling

Emergency roadside call-handling is currently carried out by the various PCOs. Under these proposals, the calls might instead be received by RTCCs. The operator would identify emergency calls and immediately pass them to the police for action. This would ensure a continued rapid response by the police to accidents. All non-emergency calls, such as straightforward vehicle breakdowns, would be handled by the RTCCs directly, relieving police resources for more important work. Roadside call-handling, and related information about conditions on the network, would be brought closer to the RTCC strategic traffic managers.

Network performance-monitoring

RTCCs would provide important management information on:

The RTCC structure

At present we envisage having three RTCCs based on three broad geographical regions: the North; Midlands and West; and South and East of England. This would minimise the need to interface between traffic areas and would allow the rapid prediction of traffic conditions on the network. We would, however, be prepared to consider other options - for example, one single national control centre - if the consultation process can prove that this offers additional benefits. We would also consider implementing one RTCC as a pilot scheme - perhaps within a reduced operational area - in order to fine-tune our requirements.

Proposed RTCC structure

View larger image

We have proposed an RTCC structure based on regional centres and this is shown on the above diagram. In doing so, we have built on the findings of relevant European Union research projects, particularly the PLEIADES project - which demonstrated a wide variety of road-traffic information services in Kent. The experience we gained through the Midlands Driver Information System has also proved valuable in this respect. In addition, the Automobile Association has given us useful advice on the needs of road users and information service providers.

The diagram shows how the RTCC would be a free-standing facility which would bring together all the necessary elements for providing the four core services. RTCCs would also need to link to a number of existing services and systems. It may be possible to convert existing facilities by adding additional equipment and personnel - or alternatively an entirely new facility could be developed.

The RTCC structure must be flexible to allow for progress, both in terms of technology and expansion. Ideally, RTCCs would eventually develop links with: urban and rural road authorities; similar traffic information centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and other transport operators. The driver information which RTCCs produced would be compatible with services and equipment being developed in Europe.

Institutional arrangements

One of the most important issues to address is the respective roles and responsibilities of the police, the Highways Agency and any potential RTCC operator in managing traffic on the trunk road network. Although the police currently perform tactical traffic-control and traffic-regulation enforcement duties on England's motorways, their resources are limited and they have other pressures to consider. There is a need to redefine this partnership. The RTCC Initiative gives the police, the Highways Agency and the private sector the opportunity to work together to perform their respective responsibilities and provide the best possible service to the road user.

The Highways Agency has opened discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers to clarify these issues and the outcome will have an impact on future network-control strategy. It will also be necessary to reach agreement with other highway authorities on the effect of strategic traffic control on their roads.

Key issues for consultation

Summary

RTCCs would:

Regional Traffic Control Centres (RTCCs)

The business opportunity

The Private Finance Initiative

The funding structure for RTCCs is an issue which requires careful consideration. We are currently assessing the opportunities for the private sector to supply this service and are opening discussions with interested parties through consultation.

The PFI has become one of the Government's main instruments for delivering high-quality and cost-effective public services. It is not simply about financing capital investment in new assets, but also about using the full range of private sector skills and innovation.

PFI projects fall into three broad categories:

There are two fundamental requirements for a PFI project:

Delivering the RTCC Initiative

Our studies have confirmed that saving motorists' time - through avoiding congestion - has a real economic benefit. Taken over 15 years, these savings alone would easily exceed the cost of investment in RTCCs. However, there is pressure on government funds, and the RTCC Initiative is likely to be delivered earlier by minimising dependence on these. This requires creating third-party revenue streams to pay for the required investment. The potential commercial opportunities include:

Commercial opportunities

Commercial Opportunities

The illustrative diagram above shows how a combination of revenue streams and the utilisation of Agency assets might present sufficient commercial opportunities to make RTCCs a viable self-financing project.

We do not anticipate that one single company will be able to provide all the necessary services. Instead, we expect that consortia will have to be formed in order to provide the necessary expertise. For example, in addition to a traffic-management capability, a consortium might include a facilities management company, an information services provider and a telecommunications company.

Key issues for consultation

Summary

The Highways Agency has identified RTCCs as a high-priority Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project. The aim is to make the RTCCs financially free-standing.

The business opportunity

The next steps

The consultation process

The Highways Agency has developed the RTCC Initiative as a major element in its future traffic-management plans. We now need your comments and advice on its implementation - and the opportunities and benefits it offers - so that we can refine our proposals before initiating the formal procurement process. We recognise that different elements of the private sector have different and valuable contributions to make - and therefore we want to consult as widely as possible on all aspects of the RTCC Initiative. This includes finding out what road users and industry want from RTCCs - and how we can satisfy those requirements.

We are keen to encourage innovative ideas that improve our service to the road user and give value for money to the taxpayer. To help stimulate this process, please pay particular attention to the key issues for consultation which relate to technical, operational, institutional, financial and legal questions. We would welcome your input through:

We will be holding the RTCC consultation seminar in London on 9 January 1997. This will provide all interested parties with the opportunity to hear presentations on - and ask questions about - our proposals, exchange ideas and provide a forum for potential partners to meet. We will then publish a response to the comments received during the consultation. This will set out our plans for the most effective way of taking forward the RTCC Initiative.

Further information

If you would like to give your views on our initial RTCC proposals, or would like to register for the RTCC seminar, please write to:

Alan Hobbs
Highways Agency
Network Control Division
Room 611
Tollgate House
Houlton Street
Bristol BS2 9DJ

Tel: 0117 987 8531
Fax: 0117 987 8447

The next steps