Abstract :
In 1997, following some background research, the UK Department for Transport established the Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) Programme. UTMC aimed to provide assistance primarily to UK local authorities in making effective and efficient use of mainstream technology, based on open standards, to deliver an increasing range of policy objectives. The Programme was conducted in two halves: the first half undertook technical and operational research in a number of specific areas, while the second half trialled the results in four full-scale demonstrators around the UK. Since RTIC2002, the four ´UTMC29´ demonstrators (at Preston, Reading, Stratford-upon-Avon and York) have made substantial progress in their implementations and have either completed or are nearing completion. Perhaps more interestingly, there are now a substantial number of authorities adopting a UTMC strategy without DfT demonstrator funding. During the past year, the management of UTMC has undergone a significant change. In the research programme UTMC was managed directly by DfT, with input from stakeholders; but it has now been handed over to the UTMC Development Group (UDG), a community group of local authorities and suppliers. DfT continues to provide resources to support the UDG in its work, to: develop the UTMC concept; maintain the technical specification; manage the data objects registry; share experience via the publication of guidelines and case studies.
