There is growing interest for traffic and travel information, brought about by developments in information and communication technology that enable personalisation and customisation of information. State of the art content at present is directly sourced from road agencies, comprising mainly of incidents and motorway based real-time travel times and interpreted by journalists into traveller information. Two important areas in the next generation of traveller information services are discussed; firstly, the information needs of motorists and the associated issue of knowledge management, and secondly, the development of more sophisticated traffic models and content databases covering entire metropolitan areas. The results of trials in Melbourne and Sydney providing customised content by SMS messages and more detailed traffic maps via a web site are discussed. The research highlights the initial unsophistication of motorists with technology and content, but this quickly changes as motorists begin to receive and consume traveller information. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E209471.
Abstract