Austrian end-to-end intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provider Kapsch TrafficCom has completed a successful year of business in Spain with the award of an intelligent public transport management system implementation contract in the city of Castellón.
In order to manage the city’s mobility more efficiently, the project includes a mobile application to inform citizens in real-time about timetables, permitted journeys or sanctions. In addition, barrier posts that block vehicular traffic from pedestrian zones in the old town will be replaced by an automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) system. The equipment will register all vehicle entrances and exits in the controlled zone, their length of stay, and any unauthorized journeys. The project has a budget of more than EUR5m (US$5.5m) euros and will be executed over five years. The scheme also includes the deployment of permanent and portable sensing units that will measure the speed of each vehicle and the intensity and occupation of lanes, with the system installed at 11 access points to the city. In addition, sensing units for bicycles and people will continuously transmit their analysis to a data centre. The contract also foresees a maintenance plan and technical support for the management, maintenance and operation of traffic control.
Throughout 2019, Kapsch’s ability as a one-stop ITS solutions provider in the fields of tolling, traffic management, smart urban mobility, traffic safety and security, and connected vehicles has been reflected in numerous projects in the Spanish market, including:
- The management of vehicle access control to Bilbao’s Old Town in a joint venture with Etra Norte, and in the city of Avilés, with similar projects in Pamplona, León, Palencia or Málaga;
- A project for Madrid City Council involving the implementation of a smart mobility system, providing real-time accurate data with the help of artificial vision cameras and big data techniques. The system is helping to improve traffic management in the Spanish capital, resulting in a better management of transport services and infrastructures;
- The implementation of Kapsch’s EcoTrafiX system in the cities of Vitoria, Donostia, La Coruña, Valladolid and Huelva. The tool collects, aggregates, archives and monitors various data sources in order to provide local technical management with a collective view of this data, obtaining an analysis for real-time management.
In addition to these schemes, the Ceuta Ciudad Segura solution implemented by Kapsch in 2019 received the ASIS International Award, with the SafeCity system able to integrally manage data using a sophisticated camera system. The embedded tools can solve a variety of problems, such as precise knowledge of the real-time traffic situation through license plate recognition, early detection of forest fires through thermal imaging cameras, or the improvement of citizen security through facial recognition technology.
“Smart Urban Mobility is one of the main strategic focuses for us in Spain. In 2019, the company has successfully continued to establish collaborative agreements with different public bodies with regards to the implementation of intelligent transport systems,” said Javier Aguirre, president of Kapsch TrafficCom for Spain and Portugal. “This promotes efficient, safe and sustainable urban mobility, and we have already implemented several important projects across the country.”
