Discover how Hyro enhanced the 131940 Traffic and Travel Information website, allowing road users to make informed travel decisions.
Background
The 131940 Traffic and Travel information website is owned and operated by the Queensland Government through the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR). First developed in 2004 to provide traffic and travel information associated with the Gold Coast Indy Carnival, the website has grown over time, as too the need for reliable and timely information.
TMR needed to improve the user experience and provide a more functional and effective website, plus build a platform to support an integrated approach to the use of traffic and travel information across the Queensland state government.
TMR identified several areas for usability improvement that included:
- Providing an easy to navigate source of information;
- Ability for users to customise their view of road conditions;
- An interactive ‘click and drag’ map; and
- Publishing up to date webcam images from across the state to both the website and to mobiles.
The website also needed to securely integrate with authorised incident management systems across the state, mainly within Traffic Management Centres as well as live traffic web cameras.
The Solution
To meet TMR’s unique technical and functional requirements – as well as allowing for future development – Hyro recommended a platform built on Kentico’s Content Management System (CMS).
Hyro worked closely with TMR to identify and develop an appropriate information architecture and visual design solution that would provide easy access to information and integrate with incident management systems, and live traffic web cameras. The CMS enabled the configuration of content and authors in a variety of ways to achieve the end goals required.
Hyro has an ongoing managed services support agreement with TMR, and this, along with decisions made in the development phase to host two versions of the website (a dynamic standard version and a high load version), proved critical during the 2011 flooding and cyclone events. As an onslaught of Queenslanders searched for information on road closures and incidents, the sites facility to fallback to text resulted in it being one of the few uninterrupted government information services during this period.
The Outcome
Where delays occur, planned or otherwise, Queensland road users now have access to the information they need as quickly and easily as possible, to help make informed travel choices. With a new and improved website TMR and other departments (i.e. Queensland Police, Local Government, etc) can now efficiently provide up-to-date information on the state-controlled network.
Hyro continues to work with TMR and recently developed phase two of the project, with enhanced functionality and new features such as a mobile website, which incorporates location based services, and dissemination of unplanned traffic and travel information through social media such as Twitter.
Joanna Robinson, Director (Road and Corridor Use), Department of Transport & Main Roads said:
“During the Queensland floods, we handled a significant increase in daily visits and our ability to fall back to a quick access version of the site meant we were able to provide critical information throughout this period.”