BayernInfo News

What are the latest new features?

Travel information: The travel information site has been completely revised. Now a large overview map is available for visualisation of travel route recommendations. In addition, the route information includes all traffic jams and incidents (e.g. road blockages and accidents) reported to BayernInfo. This allows BayernInfo to calculate the fastest route, whilst taking all these factors of influence into account. Another new Travel Information feature provides you with several good alternative routes combining different modes of transport as car, bike, public transport and walks.

Bavaria's Cycling Network: Similar to the Travel Information service provided, there is now a completely revised map available for bikeriders under Bavaria's Cycling Network site. Moreover, you can use the site to plan your cycling tours from doorstep to doorstep. Your trip to Bavaria's Cycling Network is then calculated using public transport that allows you to take your bike with you.

Carpools & ride share: Parking spaces close to the motorways are taken into account here where you can meet to form a car pool. The "C+R" parking spaces on your map have the following features: certain number of parking spaces, lighted and paved. To view them, activate the "Parking" layer and zoom into the map.

Road weather information: The Traffic Condition Overview now also provides information on critical road weather. If you might be confronted with aquaplaning due to heavy rainfalls, you will receive a hazard warning. Please note: These warnings can only be provided for locations with sufficient detection sites. You can deactivate the road weather reports on the toolbar.

Weather information for a certain region: In addition to the road weather, you can also view weather information for a certain region. Only weather situations with relevant impact on traffic are reported, e.g. fog, rain storms in Bavaria, etc. This information is provided by MeteoGroup and is published on the Traffic Condition Overview site of BayernInfo in according zoom levels.

Automatic traffic jam warning: Based on traffic data collected on the motorways, BayernInfo can generate traffic jam or congestion warnings depending on the current traffic situation. These traffic jam warnings are immediately transferred to the Police Office of Traffic Safety that in turn passes the information on to the radio stations and/or navigation devices with RDS-TMC reception.

Where does the BayernInfo site come from and what is behind it?

BayernInfo has its origin in a subproject of BAYERN ONLINE - an initiative launched by the Bavarian Government within the framework of the "Offensive Zukunft Bayern" project.

Initiated and established between 1995 and 2001, the Superior Construction Authority at the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior operated the service until 2005. During that time its expansion and operation were tendered for another 10 years in form of a Public Private Partnership .

With contract conclusion VIB Consortium (Verkehrsinformationsagentur Bayern) continued service operation in 2006. Members of the consortium are Siemens, PTV, mdv, micKS and DDG.

Step by Step the range of services will be continuously revised and expanded. More modern maps, more accurate information, better forecasts and more details about minor roads as well as the integration of information about neighbouring regions are planned. Visit our webiste regularly and discover the latest improvements!

Your BayernInfo Team.

Where does the BayernInfo service information come from?

The overview of the current traffic conditions is made possible through many different sources of information. Depending on the type of information and the time horizon, different methods are applied. For the service, the results of all methods are combined and a complete overview - of all streets and times is created:

Reports management is responsible for all information that comes in in the form of traffic reports. Currently, these are

• reports by the police (traffic report centre) that stem from the public traffic alert service. Reports on current incidents and hazards are made available for the street network of federal roads and highways, as well as for important urban, state and country roads. These are also known from the radio or RDS-TMC services.
• Reports on coordinated measures for workplaces on the highway (Bavarian Road Construction Authority). The road works also especially consider future measures.

A large number of methods form a "traffic model" in the system.

Detectors as used for traffic impact systems on highways provide "current traffic condition" and "short-term forecast" information. A traffic model (of the name ASDA-FOTO) is employed to find traffic jams and assess their development (for up 60 minutes) in areas that have been equipped with detectors. For this purpose, every minute traffic quantity and speed data are collected per carriageway and analysed (separately for passenger cars and trucks). The more dense the detection network, the more reliable are the results.

For routes without detectors other methods are applied. The knowledge acquired on the behaviour of road users is also drawn upon. You can find out how many trips are typically made from one point to another (e.g. for Monday, Tuesday-Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Traffic engineers call this an "assignment" of the demand to the traffic network. This is why these methods are also called "assignment-based methods".
If the information is correctly assigned over the day, you can assess for every hour how the traffic will distribute across the entire road network. This is what is done for a so-called "long-term forecast".

If you also know when restrictions are planned on the use of the road network, you can consider them, too. This is done in mid-term forecasts, that every evening take the road works into account 14 days in advance. This leads to even more accurate assessments for the following 14 days. A forecast can be calculated for up to 365 days. Depending on the number of incidents reported, the calculation can be completed over night.

If then all results are combined - i.e. the long-, mid-, short-term forecasts, current traffic situation and reports, the results are finally obtained that you are then presented with. Depending on the time and place you choose, you are always provided with a forecast of how much traffic you are expected to encounter.

What is planned for the future?

It is obvious that there is more information that could be used to obtain an even better forecast. We aim at:

• establishing a Traffic Information Department
• including weather forecasts
• providing and displaying information on one-day roadworks on motorways
• including information provided by municipal reports on roadworks in Bavarian cities
• providing and displaying reports on events
• integrating municipal traffic surveys made in Bavaria
• integrating and providing parking information and guidance systems
• including FCD "Floating Car Data"
• including public transport reports

To include all this information, the models must be extended accordingly and new methods might have to be introduced.

We need partners to help us implement these ideas. Especially local authorities and road construction authorities on a district level have information that we could process for you. The respective region and the whole of Bavaria would then be able to benefit from BayernInfo.

The next BayernInfo release will be available from mid-2009.