Jacob in Hobart has been utilising Mooven across a number of sites - baselining traffic behaviour and validating other observations. In turn, this informs traffic modelling and planning, feeding into the capital and project strategy to deliver more effective road assets and economic benefit to the Tasmanian community.

Project Overview

• Traffic modelling and planning insights to improve access from suburbs to Hobart CBD. 

• Monitor queue length and journey time impact approaching a major roundabout at morning peaks 

• Measure queues up to 2kms from the roundabout 

• The short project window placed challenges on installing and enabling hardware.

The Challenge with Queues 

Getting stuck in traffic queues is one of the more frustrating aspects of driving in any urban or rural area. Queues caused by traffic peaks, road works, special events, or incidents all cause disruption leading to frustration, unforeseen delay, and complaints.

But monitoring queues - where and when they occur, how long the queue is, and what is the delay that drivers may suffer - has always been surprisingly difficult and expensive. It has required multiple pieces of sophisticated digital equipment, a lot of expensive human observation, or both. In addition, that equipment takes time to procure and set up, often delaying the start of projects and putting more workers in harm's way to install equipment on or near the road. It's even more difficult when the queue extends beyond the line-of-sight - behind buildings or parkland, around corners or over hills.

In reality, that complexity, delay and expense means that queueing and the issues queues cause are simply ignored at many project locations.

Accurate Queue Insights with Mooven

Mooven has solved a lot of these challenges, delivering a unique method of accurately viewing and reporting the behaviour of traffic queues. Most often, Mooven's queue method requires zero hardware installed thus no workers on foot. Queue sites can be set up online and be monitored in minutes. Compared to hardware-based or people-based solutions, Mooven is fast, easy and very economical to use.

By aligning the queue behaviour with traffic journey-time and delays, communications strategies using VMS boards can inform drivers in real-time of expected conditions (such as their expected journey), which reduces frustration and complaints. With proper planning, alternate routes and travel times can be communicated to drivers, enabling them to make their own decision on the best way forward.

“The Mooven queue monitoring was very flexible. Mooven worked with us to set up a tailored monitoring and reporting solution to measure queues up to 2km from the approach.”

Mathew Brooks,
Senior Associate Transport Engineer
Jacobs' Hobart

The Case: Jacobs

Recently, Jacobs in Hobart has been utilising Mooven across a number of sites - baselining traffic behaviour and validating other observations. In turn, this informs traffic modelling and planning, feeding into the capital and project strategy to deliver more effective road assets and economic benefit to the Tasmanian community.

The most complex challenge was to accurately measure morning peak queueing behaviour at a roundabout in Hobart that was experiencing extensive peak hour queuing.

Mathew Brooks, Senior Associate Transport Engineer with Jacobs' Hobart office said "We were also pleased that the Mooven data correlated very well with drive-through tests and other manual observations".

"We also gained access to the detailed queueing data and detailed traffic behaviours for input into other planning processes and solutions. This gave us the confidence to use the Mooven queueing data as a key component within our traffic planning process".

Outcomes Delivered

• Accurate and detailed queue insights 

• Improved Site Safety: Zero workers on foot to set up and continually execute queue monitoring 

• Project up and running in under half a day from confirmed order 

A great result for Jacobs and also for the local community in Tasmania.

Bringing in Mooven allowed Jacobs to confidently make decisions based on data and key insights as part of their project traffic planning. 

“ The Mooven queue monitoring was very flexible. Mooven worked with us to set up a tailored monitoring and reporting solution to measure queues up to 2 kms from the approach.”

Mathew Brooks
Senior Associate Transport Engineer
JACOBS Hobart
Australia