Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has chosen the oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace from Anglo-American IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystems developer Chordant Inc. to help deliver improved transport services for residents and travelers across the UK region.
TfWM will use Chordant’s oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace technology as a part of its ‘Playbook’ initiative, which is the name given to the digital representation of the West Midlands road network, capturing hundreds of real-world scenes in static, dynamic and historical forms allowing businesses to test and develop their products or services within a digital environment, reducing costs and accelerating scalable deployment. This is part of the West Midlands’ wider strategy, linking its 5G cellular testbed (WM5G), self-driving technology development activities (Midlands Future Mobility), and incorporating the pioneering Future Mobility Zone program schemes.
Chordant’s oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace service will enable TfWM to take better advantage of live information about the operations of its road and transport networks, by bringing together real-time data from multiple individual transport data systems across the individual West Midlands Metropolitan Boroughs, to provide a more holistic understanding of transport operations across the region, and to provide external organizations with access to this data under open data licensing terms.
The oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace is a cloud-based platform that allows organizations including central and local governments and transport service providers to share and access previously isolated and inaccessible data about the real-time operation of towns and cities and their transport and mobility services. By opening such data in a platform like this, organizations can provide new insights, improve decisions and build intelligent services that significantly improve citizen life. As an open, standards-based platform, oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace provides neutral data infrastructure for urban regions, enabling the widest variety of data-driven transport services and avoiding individual application/service vendor lock-ins.
“We were encouraged by Chordant’s work with other transport authorities in the UK, and notably their work with Midlands Future Mobility, the West Midlands-based autonomous technology development company,” explained Mike Waters, TfWM’s director of policy, strategy and innovation. “They have a particular focus on organizations like ours, understanding the needs of transportation networks and how to make use of the vast quantities of data generated.”
Mika Rasinkangas, president of Chordant, commented, “We are pleased to collaborate with TfWM as they work to improve their transport network in the West Midlands, and to support transport service innovation. The West Midlands is in the vanguard of future mobility visionaries leading the UK towards cleaner, more efficient and more useful transport services.”
