Smart cities have a new cloud-based tool to keep the cars flowing with Cubic Transportation Systems’ (CTS) new NextTraffic platform.
According to Mass Transit Magazine, CTS launched the NextTraffic traffic and transportation manager at the ITS European Congress held in Glasgow, Scotland. The company said that NextTraffic combines CTS’ expertise in transportation payment and IT with Microsoft’s enterprise level Azure Cloud platform.
“This collaboration allows us to utilize the full power of Microsoft technology to improve our solutions today and develop future-proof, scalable solutions for tomorrow,” said CTS vice president of strategy Boris Karsch. “This strategic relationship will be beneficial for both companies as we build on CTS’ expertise in payment and information systems for public transportation and traffic management and Microsoft’s world-leading enterprise solutions.”
The launch of NextTraffic comes as municipal and state governments worldwide are putting more resources into smartening up their transportation infrastructure. The Department of Transport’s Smart City Challenge has 77 US cities competing for a $40 million grant to develop advanced technologies to improve the environmental impacts of travel and to reduce congestion.
Cubic eases surface transport control
NextTraffic enables cities to use a single interface to collect, control, monitor and manage all traffic elements running on multiple computer networks.
According to CTS, the cloud-enabled platform, which is both scalable and flexible, allows better utilization of networks and roads, which easing control of surface transportation.
“Smart city transportation solutions have the potential to improve traffic patterns, reduce congestion, contribute to economic growth and revolutionize city planning, all while improving the quality of transportation around the city,” said Microsoft corporate VP, worldwide public sector,Toni Townes-Whitley. “We’re excited to work with Cubic, a domain expert in its field, to develop new transportation solutions for our customers.”
NextTraffic can work through the Microsoft Azure cloud platform or through clients’ existing infrastructure. It supports system-wide data processing and collection that allows information to be shared with cities and its many travelers.
