Managing road user expectations can be challenging, but equally daunting is monitoring and reporting on journey times to meet these expectations. This process is often hard, expensive, and time-consuming, presenting significant hurdles for road infrastructure delivery teams and contractors.

One of the top challenges faced is waiting for a baseline to be captured, along with the installation and maintenance costs of expensive hardware for data collection. Additionally, teams spend hours compiling data for monthly reports, leading to a lack of real-time visibility into road performance.

However, where challenges arise, opportunities follow suit.

The spotlight on travel time

The intent to measure and be transparent with this information is evident in recent initiatives by various government bodies. For instance, Transport for NSW has proactively responded to calls for transparency by unveiling travel time data for the Rozelle interchange, aiding motorists and public transport commuters in understanding trip times based on different days and peak periods.

"…The Transport Management Centre is using travel time monitoring equipment to collect journey times as the performance of roads has fluctuated since the opening of the interchange", as published in the Mirage News.

Similarly, Queensland mandates traffic monitoring for major highway projects, both pre-construction and post-completion, to ensure minimal disruption while adhering to compliance standards. Travel time and queue monitoring is almost always required, but the reality we face is it is often delivered to the minimum requirements due to the time and cost barriers faced. 

"Why? The difficulty, time and cost. As soon as a project is awarded, there is immediate pressure for work to begin both as a visible sign of progress to the public and for the project to be commercially viable for the contractor" Gabriels says in an article published in the Courier Mail.

Go wide, go deep

We recognize the crucial 'jobs to be done' in travel time compliance monitoring and reporting. Incorporating a wide range of datasets, including hardware and software combinations, with pre-built software and customised reporting, provides the ability to go wide, before you go deep - the proverbial deep data dive required to meet reporting requirements.

Aside from the task of meeting compliance requirements with accurate reporting. There is an increasing desire to actually streamline and evolve this to a more efficient way of compliance reporting. When we are asked what this looks like?

• "x10 higher visibility - find an approach with easy cover of adjacent road networks, gain live visibility and and wide context of the surrounding roads"

• "Access more affordable monitoring - When we use floating vehicle data the cost is significantly lower than hardware solutions"

• "It looks like less hassle and more reliability" Search for a no-hardware solution that can be deployed in minutes, without the need to be on-site and doesn’t require ongoing maintenance.

• "The ability to measure what matters" In addition to all of the above, Moovens provides context that helps customers understand anomalies, the next best actions, and identify opportunities for efficiencies.

Journey time information isn't just compliance

Capturing journey time information isn’t just about compliance—it’s about understanding the impact of construction work on road users and communities. It allows contractors and government agencies to:

• Ensure minimal disruptions and safer roads for all stakeholders.

• Identify traffic bottlenecks and triggers for timely interventions.

• Deliver projects efficiently while enhancing community experiences.

Historically, traditional methods of data collection have proven costly, time-consuming, and sometimes unsafe for workers. Mooven’s innovative approach eliminates these drawbacks, allowing stakeholders to focus on impactful decision-making rather than cumbersome data gathering processes.

Greater context only happens with the right data points and Moovens standard site monitoring packages use a combination of wide and contextual data sources to give a holistic view of site impact. 

Bluetooth, floating vehicle data - Let's unpick what a non-hardware approach actually is…

Our most frequently used datasets though are floating vehicle data from Google and TomTom as they provide increased reliability and aren't prone to hardware faults.

Mooven has the ability to add Bluetooth into the mix amongst its crowdsource data, but there are benefits to floating vehicle data / non hardware approach…

A baseline can be captured before you gain access to site, along with the ability to monitor traffic conditions beyond your immediate worksite without needing to gain access permissions.

It's TMR approved: A review conducted for Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR) found that floating vehicle data provided by Mooven didn't suffer from data gaps seen in Bluetooth data, that it more accurately represented travel times as they were less prone to noise introduced by erroneous data points or low-volume periods. Mooven was then approved as an alternative to the Bluetooth systems specified in clause 3.7 of MRTS02.1 in March 2020, and is widely used for compliance monitoring across NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, ACT, New Zealand and the United States.

It's just the start… Where required, hardware can be combined into your Mooven reporting for needs like precipitation, noise, dust or vehicle-specific reporting like individual wait times, vehicle classification and detailed percentile breakdowns. 

Overall the reliability and fact that no site visits are required to setup or maintain equipment, goes a long way in reducing lead times and eliminating safety risks associated with putting crews in live traffic.

Join the Efficiency Journey with Mooven

Don’t let roadblocks in data collection hinder your project success. Partner with Mooven to leverage advanced data solutions and streamline compliance reporting effortlessly. Reach out to us today to explore how Mooven can work for you and your specific project needs. Together, let’s pave the way for smoother traffic management and safer roads for everyone.