Data Analysis Reveals the Intricate Relationship Between Air Quality and Transport
Driving Sustainability: Transport for West Midlands Harnesses Environmental and Transport Data Integration to Bolster Local Transport Plan
Vaisala’s Data Empowers Sustainable Transport Schemes: Transport for West Midlands Utilizes Weather and Environmental Sensors, Partnered with VivaCity Traffic Monitoring Sensors, to Measure Carbon Emissions and Air Quality, Driving Climate-Friendly Transportation Initiatives.
The West Midlands is the second largest region in the United Kingdom, where nearly six million residents live and work. In this geographically diverse area, TfWM has embarked on a journey that will change the way residents and others see and use local transport.
The vision to reimagine how people get around the region will result in an fairer, safer and healthier West Midlands, reducing the impact on the environment and encouraging sustainable travel.
Collaboration and innovation
TfWM engaged VivaCity to deploy 300 traffic monitoring sensors and 62 Vaisala weather and air quality measurement stations. This combination gives TfWM detailed and accurate traffic information and weather data across a large network.
Benefits of combining weather, air quality and traffic datasets
Each Vaisala sensor measures the most important urban pollutant gases (NO, NO2, O3, CO) and particles (PM1, PM2.5, PM10,) and is equipped with a weather transmitter that measures six of the most important weather parameters: air pressure, temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and wind direction.
The weather and air quality insights help TfWM to understand not only current weather conditions across the region, but also the relationship between weather and traffic. Weather is one of the major causes of changes in traffic behaviour, and idle vehicles pollute much more than moving ones.
The weather and air quality insights, alongside traffic data, offer the potential for TfWM to optimise traffic signals and speed limits to help traffic move more smoothly, to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
About Vaisala
Vaisala is a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements. Building on 85 years of experience, Vaisala provides observations for a better world, with space-proof technology even exploring Mars and beyond. They are a reliable partner for customers around the world, offering a comprehensive range of innovative observation and measurement products and services. Headquartered in Finland, Vaisala employs over 2,000 professionals worldwide and is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.
Read article on VivaCityLab.com site
Photo by Luke Matthews on Unsplash
