12 November 2021
The Flemish Ministers of Mobility and Innovation are joining forces to make our traffic safer, smoother and more sustainable. Today at the Flemish Government the green light was given for Mobilidata, an ambitious mobility project that fits into the Flemish Road Safety Plan and wants to make Flemish traffic safer, smoother and more sustainable through smart data management and technology. Flemish ministers Lydia Peeters and Hilde Crevits: "Data and data connectivity in the field of mobility are the new gold. Not only can we increase traffic safety and ensure smooth traffic flow, but through this open mobility ecosystem we ensure that various players and stakeholders can use the data to offer smart mobility solutions. To achieve this, we are working with a consortium led by Be-Mobile, a Belgian company specializing in the distribution of traffic information. Flanders is allocating 18.2 million euros for this purpose."
"With this strong public-private partnership, AWV is committed to connected mobility. With this program, we are developing digital road management where we pass real-time traffic information to road users, who in turn 'connect' to our road infrastructure. Movements thus become smoother, safer, more sustainable and more comfortable." Tom Roelants, Administrator General AWV
Data and in particular data connectivity are the new "gold". Mobilidata creates innovative mobility solutions that increase road safety, improve traffic flow and reduce emissions. This is done by focusing on a sustainable digital data infrastructure and by stimulating the use of this data in innovation applications.
Mobilidata will realize 31 innovative technological traffic applications. Through a network of sustainable, smart and reliable data, the signal sent by your on-board computer or smartphone will be communicated with. In this way, traffic lights can better respond to certain mobility needs. For example, when a priority vehicle approaches an intersection during an urgent mission, the traffic light automatically switches to green so that it can proceed smoothly.
The contract was awarded to Be-Mobile after the selection process. They have extensive practical experience in research, development and building a sustainable ecosystem and is familiar with private-public cooperation.
Perhaps the most tangible pillar of Mobilidata, as a function of traffic safety, is the rollout of intelligent traffic control devices (iVRIs). These intelligent traffic lights help us to better reconcile traffic safety and traffic flow, both for active road users, public transport and motorized traffic. Making traffic light-controlled intersections as conflict-free as possible is an important key point in the traffic safety plan. But there are other benefits as well. In bad weather, we can make the traffic light turn green more quickly when a group of cyclists approaches the intersection so that they have a smoother passage. We can also anticipate driving behavior by, for example, warning road users of tailbacks or inappropriate speed at construction sites. In other words, a clear added value for our traffic safety."
- Flemish Minister of Mobility Peeters
Also within MIA or Mobility Innovative Approaches (Dutch: Mobiliteit Innovatief Aanpakken), the Flemish Government is using technological innovations to improve traffic safety. For example, drones and camera technology will be used to proactively screen traffic situations so that adjustments can be made if necessary. In this way they can prevent many accidents from happening at this location and we can prevent this point from ever ending up on the list of dangerous points. Prevention is better and cheaper than a cure. More info about MIA via www.vlaanderen.be/mia (Dutch).
"With Mobilidata, we are bridging the gap between hardware on the street and the road user in order to bring about behavioral change among travelers, companies and governments. C-ITS is the next fundamental step to bring the mobility ecosystem and their individual interests closer together. Public-private partnerships like Mobilidata are proving to be an important point of progress in this regard." Jan Cools, CEO Be-Mobile
The program also has the ambition to set up a mobility ecosystem, so that in addition to the contractor, start-ups, scale-ups, companies and other stakeholders can use the data to realize smart mobility solutions together.
"This mobility project shows once again the importance of innovation, also for traffic. Collecting data and connecting them so that there is no unnecessary loss of time at the red light. The traffic situation can also be made safer for cyclists by giving them priority, for example, or for emergency services whereby the light remains green just a little longer. Or involving public transport in a 'green wave' to make it more attractive. Thanks to imec's expertise, among other things, we can make traffic in Flanders a lot safer."
- Flemish Minister of Innovation Hilde Crevits
Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems: what does this mean for Flemish traffic?
On the basis of 31 traffic solutions, Mobilidata now wants to better support all road users in Flanders to make traffic in Flanders safer, smoother and greener.
"This is very good news. In recent years, we at imec have been looking with the government, social actors and companies for what technology can make our mobility greener, safer and smoother. With the selection of Be-Mobile, Mobilidata can now really get going. There are exciting times ahead." Jan Adriaenssens, director imec City of Things (imec). Imec coordinates and supports the program.
Want to know more about the partners?
The Mobilidata program came about with the following partners:
Agency for Roads and Traffic, imec, Department of Mobility and Public Works, Department of Economy, Science and Innovation, Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Connecting Europe Facility.
Be-Mobile's consortium consists of the following partners:
Be-Mobile, Flitsmeister, NDrive, Bosch, Monotch, Transport & Mobility Leuven, Tractebel, Movias and Sirus.
More information:
Agency for Roads and Traffic (AWV): Katrien Kiekens, E katrien.kiekens@mow.vlaanderen.be.
Imec: Hanne Degans, E hanne.degans@imec.be.
Be-Mobile: Jan Devriese, E jan.devriese@be-mobile.com
