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Transport Systems Catapult launches new data platform

Posted: 12 September 2017 | Intelligent Transport | No comments yet

The Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) has launched a facility which will analyse data sources to help address challenges in transport.   

Credit: TSC

The Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) has launched a first-of-a-kind data facility which will enable the access and analysis of various data sources to help address challenges in transport.

The facility, named the Intelligent Mobility Data Hub (IMDH), will provide a secure platform for transport organisations to allow access to and analyse their data. The hub currently stores many valuable data sets from government organisations, transport and technology businesses, offering multiple insights into road travel and haulage patterns in the UK.

Businesses will be able to use the data hub to work with SMEs and research organisations to create transport innovations, and existing data sets can be combined for the first time to help create solutions for transportation issues such as congestion, pollution and journey planning.

Partners who use the facility will have access to powerful IT infrastructure for data analysis, as well as a team of experts to help them. It also features highly secure storage and robust legal processes to ensure privacy and commercial confidentiality to allow partners’ data to be stored and analysed.

“Data is the key which unlocks the door to transport innovation, but too often transport data is locked within commercial and technical siloes, inhibiting collaboration and innovation,” said Paul Campion, CEO at the TSC. “Utilising the TSC’s position as a neutral trusted broker, the new Intelligent Mobility Data Hub allows the UK transport industry to take a major step toward resolving this issue by enabling the analysis and combining of large data sets in a secure platform. This new facility will allow UK companies to grow by offering new services to travelers, unlocking the door to innovations which were not possible before.”

The launch follows a statement from the TSC, which declared innovation in transport is at risk because data is not being shared in the sector.

The report, which was commissioned by the TSC and used analysis from the Open Data Institute (ODI) and Deloitte, found that £14 billion of potential benefits to the UK could be gained from better use of data.