At the ITS World Congress in Melbourne, Australia, Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and the University of Melbourne announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner on the development of a National Connected Multimodal Transport (NCMT) testbed, which will deliver the first implementation of Cubic’s Surface Transport Management Solution worldwide.
The NCMT testbed will be the world’s first urban laboratory capable of large-scale testing and implementation of emerging technologies in complex urban environments. The testing will explore ways to relieve pressures created by population growth and traffic increases by using data from traffic, public transportation and parking. The NCMT testbed will also focus on multimodal transportation systems consisting of connected vehicles, roadways, freight, city logistics, public transportation, smart stations, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Cubic’s Surface Transport Management Solution forms the core of the NCMT testbed by providing an enhanced system for data usage and analysis by transportation planners. Through its cloud-based platform and unique multimodal integration capabilities, Cubic’s platform can connect different systems and data sets to provide planners with a holistic real-time view of travel across the entire network. This integration of public, private, freight and active transportation information is essential in guiding strategic decisions to improve traffic patterns, reduce congestion, and revolutionize city planning. It will also enhance customer experience through providing a higher quality of information to travelers about all transportation modes from one personalized account.
“Our transportation infrastructure is under severe pressure and this is only going to increase. Governments need to make operations more efficient, while allowing customers to easily connect with all the services and infrastructure we have created,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director, CTS Asia-Pacific.
“To achieve this, cities need to take advantage of the massive amounts of data currently at their fingertips, and realize new opportunities to connect different systems and create a level of higher intelligence about the system as a whole.”
Professor Majid Sarvi, professor of transport for smart cities in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne, noted, “We are keen to establish long-term partnerships with leading transport engineering solutions providers, and working with Cubic on the NCMT testbed, will allow testing and implementation of connected transport in a real-world and dynamic environment. The NCMT is an integrated platform, connecting tools and enablers, which will empower governments and wider industry to examine different mobilities and transport scenarios in preparing for future smart cities.”
