Imagine effortlessly finding a parking spot or experiencing a stress-free commute. As cities like Hong Kong face growing urbanization challenges, intelligent transportation solutions (ITS) like smart mobility become essential for smooth, efficient, and sustainable urban living.
With new town planning initiatives underway, including the Northern Metropolis and Greater Bay Area mega projects, Hong Kong has a unique opportunity to integrate smart mobility solutions into its urban fabric. AECOM is at the forefront of leveraging these technologies to deliver a greener legacy for future generations and to keep cities resilient against the impact of climate change.
As early as 2011, we have been instrumental in developing the Traffic Incident and Management System (TIMS). This platform facilitates efficient traffic and transport incident management while disseminating real-time traffic and transport information to the public. It uses smart video analytics with data captured from traffic detectors to provide accurate updates.
Today, our journey continues as we focus on electrifying transportation through autonomous driving solutions in the West Kowloon Cultural District and ensuring roadway readiness for automated vehicles, paving the way for a more sustainable, connected, and resilient future. With these innovations, the future is ready to take off.
Staying ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving arena requires in-depth research and deep expertise to deliver a holistic vision for implementation that harnesses the vast synergies of transformation in mobility. Read more:
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See how our team has delivered a variety of innovative ITS projects and tools in Hong Kong and beyond:
Digitally Enabled Traffic Management Systems
By applying innovative digital and data services, we have helped transform traffic management in Hong Kong, leading to improvements in traffic conditions and reduced congestion. As early as 2011, we have been working with the Transport Department to plan, design and develop a Traffic Incident and Management System (TIMS) for the Hong Kong Emergency Transport Coordination Centre. The TIMS is a multi-functional digital system, capable of fusing all available real-time traffic information such as those collected from the traffic detectors to perform automatic incident detection and to assess and recommend contingency plans to provide a better and faster response to incidents. This information can be shared with relevant stakeholders including the Hong Kong Police Force, Fire Services Department, Highways Department, public transport operators, as well with the media and general public.
Smart Video Analytics and Traffic Detectors to Provide Real-time Traffic Data
AECOM has been commissioned by the Transport Department to expand Hong Kong’s Traffic Control and Surveillance System (TCSS). This expansion increases traffic detector coverage from 45% to 80%, providing a comprehensive view of real-time traffic conditions. A total of 560 detectors have been installed, along with a central computer system for data control, management, and analysis. Additionally, the project incorporates big data analytics and a seamless data communication system. Data captured by the detectors are disseminated to the public through the Government’s mobile applications and website, The availability of more traffic data and information benefits the public by assisting in journey planning and selection of suitable routes or transport modes. Watch this video to learn more about the application of smart video analytics in traffic management.
Autonomous Driving Solutions for the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) will be one of the world’s largest arts and cultural developments with a vast number of performance and visual arts venues, museums, parks and open spaces, as well as commercial and retail opportunities.
AECOM was commissioned by the WKCD Authority to develop an Environmentally Friendly Transport System (EFTS) for the cultural district. The goal was to propose and recommend an autonomous vehicle system to facilitate visitor movements within the district. The project scope included establishing overall traffic operation strategies for the WKCD, analyzing and evaluating various EFTS options, forecasting potential EFTS usage, and assessing operational and maintenance costs. Furthermore, AECOM specified the functional and technical requirements for the operation of autonomous vehicles within the WKCD and conducted a series of field tests to assess performance, with a strong focus on public safety.
The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute will conduct a trial to further operate the first autonomous bus on public roads at a wider area around WKCD.
AV-Readi™: Roadway Readiness Assessment for Automated Vehicles
Developed by AECOM, AV-Readi™ is a first-of-its-kind digital tool that enables infrastructure owners and operators to evaluate and quantify the readiness of their roadways to deploy automated vehicles. AV-Readi™ has already been used to analyze more than 10,000 kilometers of roadways for clients across the United States and Canada including highways, urban, suburban, campuses and airports.
The team performs the roadway readiness assessment using baseline conditions such as historical crash data and roadway conditions, and conducts an automated driving system complexity analysis. A roadway readiness index is calculated through data collected and attribute evaluation. Our clients use the tool to find spots along routes that might need to be improved to make tools better facilitate the movement of an automated vehicle.