NDW and TomTom cooperate to benchmark historical traffic data

VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TomTom presented the results of a benchmark study with the National Data Warehouse for Traffic Information (NDW) from the Netherlands at the annual ITS World Congress in Vienna. In the study, Dutch government body NDW and TomTom compared historical travel time data. The results demonstrate that TomTom and NDW data and technologies help government in analysing major traffic trends and identifying key bottlenecks.

“It’s great to have independent verifications that confirm the quality of our Floating Car Data”

TomTom’s travel time data is collected from drivers who choose to anonymously share their journey information out of TomTom’s more than 70 million customers. The key advantage of this GPS data, known as Floating Car Data, is that it is not limited to a fixed location or planned periods of observation. Instead, TomTom is able to monitor a car’s whole journey, whenever it’s out on the road.

NDW’s data collection methods are highly suitable for analysing a specific area of the road, and detecting changes that occur minute by minute. NDW monitors the road network by way of a variety of roadside systems.

“It’s great to have independent verifications that confirm the quality of our Floating Car Data”, says Ralf-Peter Schäffer, Head of TomTom Traffic Product Unit. “The research proves that our data has real value for analysis and policy making.”

“The aim of this study was to test the quality and potential uses of the different data sources available, so we can find the best methods for traffic analysis and management”, says Marja van Strien, Director of NDW. “We know that by combining NDW data with TomTom’s travel time information, we get traffic information that is of a higher quality and covers more of the road network. There is a clear benefit to collaborating in the future.”

The study also shows that TomTom data can be useful in doing plausibility checks of travel times and detecting failures in the roadside equipment.

NDW also performs benchmark studies with other traffic information sourcing companies. These studies are conducted to determine the quality and possible uses of several other types of available data sources.

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Notes for editors

The study was conducted by the NDW. For more information, contact Helène van der Poel of NDW on [phone].

About National Data Warehouse for Traffic Information (NDW)

Within NDW various authorities are working closely together to develop a database for traffic data, which is used for traffic management and providing traffic information. The NDW database provides information on the current traffic situation on the motorways, secondary roads and urban thoroughfares of the participating authorities. The database also contains information on roadworks, status information on bridges (open/closed) and congestion reports. At NDW, all data is processed, stored and subsequently redistributed to NDW recipients. For more information: www.ndw.nu.

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

For further information, please visit www.tomtom.com