The transport industry must embrace data in the coming post-Coronavirus world and make the most of understanding what it can tell us, the latest ITS (UK) webinar discussion on the subject has heard.  Watch it here.

Senior Director at INRIX, Dominic Paulo, explained how his company’s information gleaned from probes on thousands of vehicles has been used to understand changes in travel since the implementation of travel restrictions in mid-March.

“I think that this pandemic has actually shown us the power of data and what data can actually offer,” he commented. “I would like to say that we should actually embrace data even more than we have done in the past by looking at actually the insight that it’s actually provided us.”

Dominic Paulo was joined by two other companies who have delivered direct technological solutions during the crisis on the latest webinar hosted by the UK’s Intelligent Transport Society.

Vaisala’s Road AI, Computer Vision asset management system enables highway surveyors and safety inspection teams to continue to operate in compliance with social distancing regulations. Business Development manager Ben Brown advised, “Embrace the technology and identify what elements are of the technology you can use to assist parts of your process”, adding that this approach might “just make their job a bit easier, a bit more efficient, a bit safer”.

New ITS (UK) member Hozah is delivering a touchless parking payment solution using ANPR cameras for vehicle recognition and an app for payment. Founder David Fowle advised the industry, “Look at technology from a driver perspective, first and foremost. These technologies exist to drive council revenue and to reduce costs… I think the only technologies that are going to work are the ones that give drivers a more user-friendly experience, which is more suitable for the generation that’s grown up with the likes of Netflix subscriptions and Amazon same day deliveries.”

The discussion heard how the solutions have been delivered to allow authorities to best manage the Coronavirus crisis and includes a demonstration from INRIX of the data gathered before and since the crisis struck.