Providing intermodal travel information

Summary

A new website was designed to provide passengers with intermodal information on a regional scale in a user-friendly format.

Implementing sustainable mobility

The Regional Traffic Information Centre (RegioTIC) was launched in 1996 as an initiative of the city of Rotterdam. It provides information on traffic conditions in and around the city via several distribution channels, including information on traffic jams, road works and available parking spaces. The objective was to improve the attractiveness of public transport and thus to reduce congestion in the city centre.

The original goal of the measure was to add real-time information on public transport (metro and TramPlus lines) to the RegioTIC website, including dynamic route information, frequencies, travel times into the city centre and service problems.

Progress

After the start of the TELLUS project, control over the RegioTIC website was transferred to a different department, which did not have a budget for the full-scale continuation of the measure. In addition, during measure implementation it became clear that real-time public transport information has no surplus value for Internet purposes, as Internet applications are used prior to making a trip and real-time information is more useful to passengers if delivered at the public transport stop or via mobile phone. Thus the integration of real-time information was not realised, and the work was changed from expanding the RegioTIC site with more dynamic information towards the creation of an integrated website on accessibility.

A 2005 feasibility study for a regional website was approved by the city council. The new site includes information on:

• on-street parking options, car parks, park and ride facilities and car pooling;
• regional public transport options;
• road works (planned and actual) and traffic jams; and
• cycle path networks and cycle parking facilities.

Outcomes

The new website was completed in 2009 and offers comprehensive intermodal information on a regional scale. Detailed evaluation is not available since, following the change in perception of the measure’s practicability, the work on the new, more comprehensive approach was completed outside the TELLUS project period.