ITS lead to free-flowing traffic in Bologna

Medieval city, strategic transport hub, major economic centre. Balancing the characteristics of such a city with the mobility demands of its citizens is a challenging prospect that the Italian city is currently trying to address within the CIVITAS MIMOSA Initiative. Using a combination of access restrictions and technological developments, the local authority is seeking to improve air quality, traffic flow and traveller behaviour, while retaining its charm. “Intelligent transport system (ITS) technologies allow us to make a quality leap in urban mobility management, providing information on the state of the road network and public transport systematically and in real time,” said Dr. Andrea Colombo, councillor for mobility and transport at the Municipality. A feature of Bologna’s approach for some time, ITS technologies were initially implemented in the city for two distinct purposes: electronic enforcement and traffic management. At the heart of the city’s approach is a limited traffic zone (LTZ) in the historical city centre. Restricted access has been in place since 2000, enforced through a network of cameras. Since its introduction 25 percent less traffic in the city centre and 70 percent less traffic in bus lanes has been recorded. Download the CIVITAS Ndewsletter for more on ITS and other mobility isues.