June/July 2003

The sheer scope of what could broadly be termed "telematics" systems was brought out clearly at a conference on telematics mounted in June by the Freight Transport Association.

Launching the event, former transport minister Steven Norris pointed out that electronics and remote monitoring could soon be playing a part in everything from fleet management to speed limit enforcement, road user charging and wide-ranging moves to change people's travelling habits.

Fuel, maintenance and personnel costs constituted over 70 per cent of vehicle running costs, according to David Midgley of truck maker MAN/ERF. Any savings resulting from telematics initiatives could therefore be significant, he said.

One of the puzzles confronting operators was what functions to measure, monitor and manage with a telematics package. He singled out performance data, location and movement data, remote service diagnostics, breakdown support, trailer tracking, digital tachograph functions and voice and text messaging.

 

Midgley drew a careful distinction between systems that helped control vehicle-based costs and those that addressed business-based costs; but he suggested that judiciously specified equipment could help with both.

John Wisdom of Cybit agreed that there could be major commercial benefits in using telematics systems, especially if they were used in conjunction with other related systems such as routing and scheduling applications. He thought savings of £1 to £1.50 per mile for a heavy truck should be possible at a cost as low as £10 a week.

Linda Swinburne of Transport for London reported that the London congestion charging scheme had so far reduced traffic entering the zone by 20 per cent and traffic within it by 16 per cent, yet had not increased flows on peripheral roads or outside the zone. Speeds within the zone were up 15 per cent.

Measures to improve public access to traffic information are being explored the Highways Agency and through various EU-funded projects, and StevenGeorge of CEPOG and Dominic Paolo of Serco described several such schemes, including a real-time traffic information system for the M25 motorway, and the MATISSE project to bring Midlands traffic information to Internet browsers and travellers' handheld computers.

The event also provided a platform for FTA chief executive Richard Turner to describe the proposed integrated "black box".