Multimodal and predictive traffic model Groningen (the Netherlands)

Rapid growth

Groningen will grow substantially in the coming years: from 200,000 inhabitants now to 270,000 inhabitants in 2040. To facilitate this growth and improve accessibility at the same time, the city is carrying out a whole series of major infrastructural projects. To do this in the least disruptive way possible, the alliance Groningen Bereikbaar has drawn up an integrated network planning.

Major investments have been made in traffic management. Currently, Groningen is still managing traffic based on current data and with a strong focus on the car. To serve multiple modalities, a common operational picture of the various modalities in one picture is an important precondition. To meet these ambitions, Groningen Bereikbaar is fully committed to predictive and multimodal traffic management in the form of a Multimodal Predictive Traffic Model System (MVVS), which we developed for them.

Both online and offline

This MVVS, which Dat.mobility (the Data & IT division of Goudappel) developed for Groningen Bereikbaar, consists of an online and an offline version.

MVVS Online

The basis for MVVS Online is OmniTRANS Realtime, our solution for proactive traffic management through short-term traffic predictions. At its core, it combines real-time read-in data from different sources. This allows predictions to be made up to 30 minutes ahead. Because OmniTRANS Realtime is linked to the traffic management system MobiMaestro, scenarios within that system can also be triggered on the expected traffic situation up to 30 minutes ahead. There is also a link with MELVIN, the Dutch system for reporting roadworks and events. This allows MVVS Online to automatically include temporary road closures. 

Apart from being predictive, MVVS Online is also multimodal. It includes information on bus traffic: the current positions of buses including their delay or ahead of schedule are shown and integrated with (expected) traffic density.

MVVS Offline

MVVS also has a module for tactical application. This module offers the possibility of running what-if scenarios related to infrastructure modifications or VRIs. This is done with MVVS's underlying traffic model. Here, one can choose an average working and weekend day derived from historical data or based on a snapshot of the real-time current situation. 

First application of MVVS

MVVS has been made available to Groningen Bereikbaar at the end of May 2022. An important first application of this new multimodal traffic model was the interventions at the Julianaplein in Groningen. But MVVS will also come in handy during further work in Groningen.

Meanwhile, the traffic centre in Groningen has used MVVS to inform individual road users about the best route choice via a special WhatsApp service. In addition, MVVS is used by the public transport traffic centre to monitor bus delays and intervene if necessary.

Client: Groningen Bereikbaar
Year: 2021 - present

Opdrachtgever: Groningen Bereikbaar
Jaar: 2021 - heden