To satisfy a growing demand from the media and users, the City of Paris has acquired for experimental purposes a real-time information system on traffic. It wanted to check, within the framework of the European CITIES project: (1) that the data which it could generate from its operational data collection systems would be altogether reliable, representative of the situation, and understandable by the general public; (2) that exchanging this information with the operators of neighbouring networks would constitute an aid for operations and for better co-ordination of actions at the Greater Paris region level; (3) that distribution of this information to car drivers in fixed locations or in their vehicles can facilitate traffic flow and improve the comfort and safety of users; and (4) that the conditions in which this information would be made available to the media, either dedicated or not, would finance the over-costs generated by the operation of the networks and of the additional systems. In view of the positive results, it was decided to develop this system to make it reliable and to include services complementary to those initially planned. It was shown that after treatment a data collection system based on operational data can provide a useful and credible information service.
Abstract