South Africa; JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2012 – Today, TomTom celebrates two years of HD Traffic with the biggest traffic jam of 13 243 toy cars, beating Spain’s previous record of 12 500. The toy cars were laid down in the famous Bacela Street, Soweto, (an area synonymous with South African history) within a few meters of the homes Noble Peace Prize Winner and previous South African President, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu which involved various South African charities, like StreetWire who made 1716 wire cars for this occasion. The number 1716 links to the average annual saving in commuter travel time by using a TomTom Live Service, which combines the intelligent routing of IQ Routes with real-time traffic feeds.
On 3 June 2010, TomTom South Africa announced the launch of their benchmark traffic service – HD Traffic, and today, two years later TomTom is able to share findings of their anonymouscollected GPS historical data for major, main and secondary road networks in South Africa. The N1 North road section from Buccleuch to Old Johannesburg Road off ramp is arguably the busiest road section. The TomTom traffic team in Amsterdam gathered the following interesting statistics of the GFIP (Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project) deployment on this road section:
- Overall average travel time on this road section has been reduced by 50%. What used to be an average travel time of 23 minutes throughout the day, can now be done in just under 13 minutes due to the GFIP project.
- The 85th percentile evening peak commuter has an impressive average saving of 20 minutes daily for this road section
- Before GFIP, the average driving speed ranged between 10 and 85 kph which has increased to 65 and 110kph after the completion of the initiative
- After the redesign of the Allandale intersection the average speed improved by 70kph during afternoon peak time
- In the past the Buccleuch to New Road offramp trip used to take average 15 min, but has now improved to as little as five minutes during afternoon peak hours
- New Road in Midrand has not substantially benefitted from GFIP as the travel time accross this section remains the same
The historical traffic data can be used by a variety of traffic planners and engineers to identify bottlenecks and prove the effectiveness of road network changes. TomTom uses the same data to provide the user the most optimal route to its destination.
“We are very proud of this important milestone that has been reached today, and this is mainly due to the continuous improvement of our HD Traffic service” says Daan Henderickx, Country Manager of TomTom South Africa. “Worldwide over five billion unique road measurements are recorded on a daily basis, making TomTom the global leader.”
TomTom will be donating the toy cars to charities in Johannesburg, one of which being Santa’s Shoebox, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes Christmas gifts to underprivileged children throughout South Africa.
Also view: GPS Technology and Road Safety
About TomTom HD Traffic
TomTom HD Traffic provides the most accurate, comprehensive and frequent traffic information available. It provides more road coverage than any other traffic solution and delivers updates every two minutes to allow drivers to get around traffic more effectively than ever before. As soon as an accident or other delay is found en route, TomTom alerts the driver and will re-route to an alternative, faster route if one is available.
For more information on HD Traffic visit:
http://www.tomtom.com/livetraffic/
About TomTom
Founded in 1991, TomTom (AEX:TOM2) is the world’s leading supplier of in-car location and navigation products and services focused on providing all drivers with the world’s best navigation experience. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has over 3,500 employees and sells its products in over 40 countries. Our products include portable navigation devices, in-dash infotainment systems, fleet management solutions, maps and real-time services, including the award winning TomTom HD Traffic. For the world’s most up-to-date route planner, including live traffic information go to www.tomtom.com/livetraffic
