Public and private sectors can work together to make commuters lives easier, that is the idea of Angus Taylor, Assistant Minister for Cities of Australian Government. Mr. Taylor believes that by providing “open data” about real-time traffic flows and parking spaces, private organizations will have information to develop applications that can benefit the community, as reported by news.com.au.
Based on that data, companies will be able to build applications that show precisely and in real-time congested streets, alternative routes and parking spaces availability. Also Mr. Taylor argues that “there is huge potential for big data and analytics to revolutionise strategic planning to make our cities more liveable and sustainable”.
Sydney city will count on big data to improve its mobility. According to Business Insider, the NSW Government established a partnership with Data61 to gather data from Opal system, GPS devices, traffic signals and public buses. All this information will support the Transport Management Centre to take early actions regarding traffic congestion, making it possible to rapidly warn drivers and public transport users about traffic jams and suggest alternatives routes.
Transport for NSW said that “real-time data that is being compiled by the data experts will help us improve congestion-management initiatives and prioritise programs that lead to more reliable travel times on the road and transport network”.
Big data alone can be powerful, allowing governments to make decisions based on consistent longitudinal data. Combining that with future information accessibility and a well-informed, tech-savvy society, there is a real potential for uncovering creative solutions for traffic and transport issues.
Photo credit: www.dailytelegraph.com.au