The Problem Traffic Engineers Face
Roadway performance degrades over time.
Traffic engineers have to monitor and measure travel performance metrics in order to manage roadway performance.
Motorists, freight operators and public transit agencies all depend on accurate travel-time data to set their schedules.
Accordingly, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has asked agencies to improve the quality of travel-time measurement through the use of reliable, real-time data.
Most federal grants require that travel performance metrics are constantly monitored and reported.
Estimating travel time is not an easy task.
Historically, travel time was estimated using the floating car methodology. People would actually drive the traffic corridor with a stopwatch and estimate actual travel time. This method is not sustainable. Also, this method only estimated travel time data for a snapshot in time.
Next came the age of the inductive loop and radar. Engineers tracked mid-block vehicle speed using inductive loops or radar. This speed was used to extrapolate travel time between two points. However, due to vehicle congestion that could occur at various points of the roadway, this method has been found to be less than desirable.
When cell phones became prevalent, Bluetooth sniffers were used to calculate travel time between two points. Studies indicated that Bluetooth-based sensors have very low sampling rates (between 3-12%) and short range.
These drawbacks, among others, led to the introduction of a better technology: travel time estimation using Wifi-based MAC address sniffers.
WEBINAR RECORDING
Travel Time: The Effective Way to Monitor the Health of Your Roadways
Larry Haas, PE Traffic Operations Engineer, CDOT| Greeley, CO
A Better Way to Collect Travel-Time
Rhythm Engineering introduces In|Time – a tool for accurate travel-time measurement and analysis.
In|Time delivers precise data at a very low investment.
In|Time Travel-Time Measurement Solution measures real-time travel time data along a corridor or arterial by capturing MAC addresses of WiFi devices in vehicles as they pass.
How the technology works?
A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique hardware identifier assigned to any Ethernet or WiFi device.
All cell phones and most newer cars have a unique MAC address associated with them.
In|Time sniffs for MAC addresses around it (300’ radius). Each MAC address is captured, hashed (anonymized), given a unique ID and time-stamped at Point A and Point B.
The difference between the timestamps yields the actual point-to-point travel-time. Any anomalies beyond a certain tolerance are rejected by In|Time’s data-acceptance model. Therefore, any travel-time captured and reported is very accurate.
In|Time passes the unique ID on to the In|Time Data Controller. This unique ID or “fingerprint” is then tracked throughout the travel route.
In|Time uses complex and extensive statistical modeling to compute precise travel time.
The actual MAC addresses are never stored, which safeguards the integrity and anonymity of the motorists.
Jim Dickinson, PE, Principal Traffic Engineer | West Des Moines, IA
Why In|Time?
Each intersection only requires a single In|Time sensor which tracks WiFi devices up to 300 ft in all directions.
In|Time works 24/7/365 in all weather conditions and is able to accurately handle all traffic volume and speeds. It is not limited by poor visibility conditions and is quick and easy to install, configure and monitor.
In|Time delivers real-time and historical travel-time information on demand.
The user can visualize multiple reports on the web-interface. Some of the data analytics include: Corridor Travel Time, Origin/Destination Travel Time matrix and Historical data analysis.
Access In|Time free demo and get the feel of how real-time travel time data visualizes over a map with device locations. See how this smart tool can extract statistics in a table with selectable points of origin and destination, so that tracking can focus on individual stretches or on the overall corridor. Get an edge over other decision-making techniques with alert signs and strategically colored charts.
In|Time data can be accessed anywhere using a computer, tablet or mobile phone. It displays real-time and historical travel-time data on OpenStreetMap™, helping agency staff to identify incidents and congestion as they happen along the transportation network.
Automated processing, audit and display of the data are invaluable to the traffic engineer.
WEBINAR RECORDING
Travel Time: The Effective Way to Monitor the Health of Your Roadways
William Thomson
