Improving traffic flow in New York

The challenge: keeping the traffic flowing

New York is where the term gridlock was invented: traffic jams that block all directions grinding the city to a halt. And with ever more vehicles competing for road space with cyclists and buses, it’s a problem that effects all New Yorkers.

The New York City Department of Transportation is approaching the problem in two ways:

1. Firstly, traffic management: using data to identify stoppages in the traffic system so they can fix them before they compound into larger problems.
2. The second way is to make bus services a better experience so more New Yorkers will choose the bus instead of the car. Part of this is to make bus services more predictable by providing accurate real-time bus arrival times displayed at bus stops and pedestrian information signs.

But to roll this out across the city, they needed a robust, plug-and-play edge gateway that could be fully managed remotely, without needing to send technicians out to physically reconfigure. They also needed one with high enough security to work in the city’s closed communications network.

Highest level of security-by-design

Smart cities run on data. But they also need security firmly in focus. After 911, the City of New York developed the NYCWiN network. A secure network to connect essential services and communications across the city.

For any device to be allowed to connect to this network, it needs to deliver the highest levels of security. The Telia IoT Edge Gateway was built from the ground up on a foundation of security and performance. It has been used in industries ranging from Security firms moving large sums of cash to energy companies monitoring buildings in real time. This was one of the main reasons it was selected to be part of a pilot program to connect New York’s traffic lights.

500 gateways were installed in the traffic lights’ management systems to give the city real-time monitoring to ensure all traffic lights are functioning. If any faults were discovered, they were immediately notified and could send a service team to solve the issue before it compounded into a problem.

Real-time passenger information

Waiting for something feels longer when you don’t know how long it will take. That’s especially true when you are waiting on a bus. Is it late? Has it already left? Will it come at all?

By providing real time bus arrival times to passengers, the NYC DOT aims to deliver a better service. When  people know exactly when the bus will arrive – in minutes away rather than stops away – it is more predictable and a better experience.

Buses send position data to the traffic control center which calculates how many minutes away the bus is. This data is then sent on to Telia IoT Edge Gateways installed at bus stops and pedestrian information signs to feed real-time data for digital displays.

The information is also provided via text-to-speech for the visually impaired.

Learn more about Telia Smart Public Transport