The Valletta travel information service

Abstract

This is an invited summary of the Valletta Travel Information Service (VaTIS) position paper (DINGLI & ATTARD 2016). In this paper, we highlight the main concepts behind the Travel Information Service currently being deployed in Valletta, the Capital City of Malta. The VaTIS system is capable of harvesting data from an existing road pricing system using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and beacons installed in all the streets of the city, thus creating a digital landscape of the City in which to process travel related information. The data is harvested from the various sensors via user smart phones and fed into modelling and simulation software, which is capable of predicting movement of cars around the city’s road network. The information is then used to calculate the free parking spaces around the city thus helping commuters reduce the cruising time spent searching for parking. Furthermore, users approaching the city can receive information in real-time thus providing them with invaluable information about the real state of traffic within the city which can be used to take informed decisions. They can opt to park outside the city if the parking spaces within the city walls are saturated or they can choose the entry point to the city, which will give them the highest probability of finding a parking space. The Geodesign and architecture at the heart of VaTIS is low cost thus making the same model easily replicable in other cities with minimal changes. In this paper, we will describe how the different components of VaTIS work and integrate together. We will also report on the first phase which has been running successfully for a number of years and which will be integrated with our system. Overall, the project aims to create a sustainable mobility model throughout the entire city by providing effective travel information with the help of crowd sourcing initiatives.