Smart Traffic 2006 was a two day international conference held 22 - 23 August 2006, at Rydges Hotel, Southbank, Brisbane. It was the fourth in the series of Smart Traffic conferences, this Smart Traffic 2006 examined challenges and solutions to achieve adequate future urban mobility. A separate one and half day course entitled Economic Evaluation of Road Infrastructure Projects requiring separate registration was held on 24 and 25 August 2006.
Attendees learnt from invited international and Australian experts about the latest developments in traffic and road technology – the challenges and solutions:
- An authoritative update on impacts of congestion on Australian cities and the most promising strategies for congestion reduction from recent research
- Understood the challenges and opportunities presented by the new toll roads springing up in Australian cities
- Learnt how to secure the benefits of current initiatives through having the right strategic, policy, contractual and technology approach
- An in-depth understanding of the most promising technologies to improve efficiency of road transport and improve level of service
- Focussed on the latest road tolling and charging technologies and approaches, with case studies from United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and elsewhere
- Learnt how to successfully package policies and projects for the best commercial and community outcomes
- Understood the synergies between public safety, security and traffic management technologies.
Heavy investment was being made in toll roads using electronic charging in all
eastern seaboard cities. Australian investment banks, contractors and consultants are global leaders in the application of innovative financing for toll roads, applying e-tolling and new customer-relationship management technologies, to ensure the success of these mega-project in financial terms.
Critical to the long term success of these projects was having the right framework to ensure toll road investments will benefit the community, and be seen to deliver these benefits.
Advances in integrated traffic management, incident response, traveller information and monitoring technology offer new tools for managing congestion and assuring the security and integrity of the network. Are these tools sufficient?
Charging for road use offers potential as a key plank in an integrated policy response to congestion with electronic tolling as a key technology for delivering it. The recent success of London’s congestion charging scheme and Germany’s nation-wide heavy vehicle road use charging scheme shows the potential for comprehensive electronic road use charging in Australia. However, significant institutional, financial and social impediments exist to hinder its deployment.
The fourth international Smart Traffic 2006 conference provided a forum to debate the relevant issues with leading international and Australian transport experts.
Brisbane had been chosen as the location for this conference to provide conference delegates with a first hand opportunity to see how new toll road developments in Brisbane were progressing and talk to the practitioners involved from government and industry.
As an all plenary session conference, key expert speakers from Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand were invited to provide in-depth viewpoints on taking a business approach to roads for Australasia. Speakers provided new approaches in strategy and policy, case-studies, examples of innovations and practical approaches to dealing with the challenges.
Key reasons to attend were:
- Updated on the latest international developments in transport operations
- Heard from experts on the latest technologies and services, partnerships, financing and risk management
- Networked and discussed current issues and developments with other professionals and suppliers of services and technology
- Reviewed case studies on lessons learned in recent deployments
Venue:
Rydges Hotel, South Bank, Brisbane, Australia
Conference Format:
2 days, all plenary sessions (4 sessions per day),
22-23 August 2006
