PTV Optima creates real-time dynamic traffic model for Slovenia

The Republic of Slovenia set a vision for managing its road traffic. It includes improved traffic safety, less congestion, limiting impact on the environment, lowering costs of transporting passengers and goods, real-time traffic information for users, and an effective management of the traffic system.

To reach these objectives, the Ministry for Infrastructure in Slovenia has recently established the National Traffic Management Center (NCUP), the country’s highest strategic body in this field. And to fulfill its goals, NCUP chose PTV Optima - the software which provides real-time traffic information. In this project, PTV Optima is based on an offline PTV Visum model in combination with inputs of real-time data. This enables the system to quickly react to incidents on the road network, and to provide realistic forecast of the traffic situation.

Real-time inputs to the system are based on a fleet of local vehicles, which is used for calculating speed; and on data from detectors, which provides speed and traffic flow. Traffic forecast is calculated every 5 minutes for all the important urban and rural roads in Slovenia – altogether around 500.000 segments. The forecast itself spans from the current time up to one hour in the future. Operators at the NCUP use PTV Optima not only to monitor traffic situations, but also to proactively steer the traffic in an optimal way: PTV Optima provides them with traffic forecasts of proposed scenarios, including a comprehensive comparison of KPIs. Operators can then make the right decisions.

Apart from evaluating traffic on the road network, PTV Optima also calculates KPIs on selected corridors and areas throughout Slovenia. All in all, about 100 KPIs are calculated, including travel times, delays, and average speeds.

This project was finalized and delivered to NCUP by a consortium consisting of PTV and local partners PNZ and APPIA in September 2019. It is operating and maintained ever since.