Satellite navigation specialist TomTom has announced the launch of the International Traffic Foundation, a programme designed to encourage collaboration in the field of traffic management.
Run by TomTom itself, the not-for-profit group aims to bring together key stakeholders from academia, industry and government with a single goal: the reduction of traffic congestion. As a result, the Foundation will fund PhD and post-doctorate research into traffic management as well as hosting a number of traffic-related events.
The launch comes as TomTom releases a report on the top 50 most congested towns and cities in the UK, which claims that Oxford has seen the biggest increase in traffic congestion, up 2.2 per cent in the last six months, followed by Belfast and Bolton. In London, 36 per cent of roads overall are significantly more congested during rush-hours than at off-peak times, with Edinburgh second worst at 33 per cent and coming Oxford third at 31 per cent.
“The TomTom International Traffic Foundation is an important step towards our goal of reducing congestion for all, as set out in our Traffic Manifesto,” claimed Harold Goddijn, chief executive officer of TomTom, at the project’s announcement. “Traffic is a universal issue that impacts the individual, business and society as a whole. The Foundation will bring together the best global thinkers to look at traffic management from every angle.”
Initially, the Foundation will fund two PhDs and two post-doctorate research projects annually into traffic management and knowledge technology, with 2012’s topics chosen as engineering models for traffic management, vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-server communication, and the physics of transport and traffic.
[Story by Gareth Halfacree appeared on Expertreviews.co.uk]