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Helping transport planners make better and faster decisions – Highways England and O2 Smart Steps Trip Information System

The Challenge

Traditional methods for gathering the data necessary for major transport scheme planning and appraisal involves significant disruption for road and public transport users. Road side interviews (RSIs) involve local police, capture limited sample sizes which are subject to biases, and have significant time and budget costs associated with collection to gather sufficient data.

This approach has led to a patchwork of methods and samples used across the country for transport projects. Add to this the different software and models used from one local authority area to another, and the result is no consistent dataset for the country. This presents a challenge for engineers working on schemes encompassing multiple areas, resulting in scheme design and major transport infrastructure decisions not being based on objective observed behaviour.

The Solution

In response to these challenges, Highways England commissioned the development of a national database, the Trip Information System, to provide a consistent and robust dataset for UK transport planners and engineers. With a base of 3 billion trips, the web based tool provides users with the ability to extract origin-destination matrices and route matrices.

O2 and Jacobs launched the Trip Information System (TIS) with Highways England in September 2017, to support traffic modelling, transport planning and appraisal activities, covering the whole of mainland UK.

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