Annual Report 2006 (main body) - RTA - NSW Government

WORLD MARKET
The SCATS system continues to be a
proven success with an expanding
international market. SCATS is currently
licensed to over 8,649 intersections in
eight states and territories in Australia,
and a further 15,000 sites in 84 cities
in 21 overseas countries.
and spills, the TMC passes information to the
public through the media, the call centre and
Variable Message Signs (VMS).
The TMC is responsible for ensuring
that traffic systems operate at peak
performance. TMC activities include finetuning
coordinated traffic signal systems and
controlling other traffic operations such as:
Deployment of traffic commanders
to assume primary responsibility for
traffic management around incidents
on major roads in NSW.
Deployment of a Traffic Emergency Patrol
Service who routinely patrol major routes
in Sydney and surrounding areas to
identify and assist when incidents occur.
Operation of Variable Speed Limit
signs on all motorways so that speed
limits may be adjusted in response
to prevailing traffic conditions.
Expansion and operation of the
network of 492 VMS across Sydney’s
metropolitan area and selected major
routes across the State.
Expansion and operation of the
closed circuit television network
of 606 cameras that monitor roads
across Sydney and selected major
routes throughout the State.
Operation, management and
maintenance of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge lane control system and other
electronic and manual tidal flow systems
throughout the Greater Sydney area.
Development of the Sydney Transport
Evacuation Precinct Plan in conjunction
with other government agencies
to control traffic operations and
pedestrian movements in the Sydney
CBD in the event of a disaster.
Intersection and
corridor improvements
Travel delays in 2005–06 were reduced.
This was achieved by improvements to
intersections and better access to major
roads on corridors and at specific locations.
Routes and locations in need of attention
have been identified through monitoring
congestion and travel times on the network.
Improvements included construction of
traffic signals, roundabouts and intersection
upgrades in the urban Sydney area –
President Avenue and Sylvania Road
Gymea; South Western Region – Olympic
Way and Jennings Road Henty; Snowy
Mountains Highway and Talbingo Road
Talbingo; Southern Region – Princess
Highway and Cranbrook/Hughes Road
intersection Batemans Bay; Hunter Region
– Princess Highway from Hexham Bridge
to Shamrock Street Hexham;The Entrance
Road Wyong; Western Region – Golden
Highway and Yarrandale Road Dubbo;
Percy and Maughan Streets Wellington;
Barriers Highway and Kidman Way Cobar.
Traffic signal coordination
The essential task of coordinating traffic
signals is carried out by the Sydney
Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System
(SCATS). The system responds to traffic
demand in real time and coordinates traffic
signal timings to ensure smooth traffic flows.
SCATS’ capability was considerably
enhanced in August 2005 with the first
deployment of the Traffic Management
Interface System (TMIS). TMIS provides
a user configurable map-based interface
for the traffic management software
applications used in the TMC including
SCATS, Public Transport Information
Processing System, Central Management
Computer System, Traffic Information
Reporting Facility and Video Control
System. It displays information from these
applications, such as site status, signal fault
alarms, locations of congestion, CCTV
images and incidents.
The first release of TMIS provides a
foundation for further application interfaces
which will come online as needed.
Annual upgrade agreements have now been
established with all RTA supported SCATS
users in Australia, New Zealand and
Singapore. These users will have the latest
version of the SCATS software, thus
reducing the demand on RTA resources to
support superseded versions of SCATS.The
annual update agreements also provide a
guaranteed annual income stream to offset
SCATS development and support costs.
Electronic toll collection
The RTA’s responsibilities for tolling include
the collection of cash and electronic tolls at
the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel, toll
enforcement services for all NSW toll roads,
and electronic tag distribution and customer
account management.
Electronic toll collection and E-only lanes
allow easier passage through toll booths.
There are also environmental benefits
because air and noise pollution is reduced
when vehicles do not have to stop to pay
a toll.
The RTA played the leading role in
introducing electronic tolling to NSW toll
roads and continues to show a lead in
supporting and maintaining interoperability
between all toll roads in eastern Australia.
The result has been a rapid expansion in
tag use with the RTA alone issuing around
357,000 tags by end of June 2006.
Toll systems
The RTA has implemented a number of new
systems to support the tolling operation.
The systems have been designed to improve
28 POSITIVE ECONOMIC OUTCOMES