Transport Scotland have awarded MOBIIE Limited, an IBI Group and Egis Joint Venture, a five-year contract to operate the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre and manage the Scottish Trunk road network that represents over 2,175 miles (3,500 km) of roads including the key inter-city motorways. Meanwhile Amey has secured a new contract to operate, maintain and upgrade motorway and trunk road technology in the country.
The Traffic Scotland National Control Centre provides a 24/7 control room with a fully joined-up response during major travel incidents and severe weather as well as monitoring the daily operation of Scotland’s Trunk road network and co-ordinating the response to incidents as they occur. By managing the operation of the control centre, Egis and IBI Group have committed to improve the safety and efficiency of the road network by delivering the core services including the:
· Monitoring of the road network, that carries approximatively 38% of all traffic in Scotland
· Provision of traffic data management and road network performance reporting with data from over 3500 traffic monitoring units
· Communication of traffic and travel information for the Scottish road network via radio, digital and social media channels, that includes more than 300,000 Twitter followers
· Planning and responding to special events, roadworks and incidents, utilising 340 Variable Message Signs and over 1000 Motorway electronic signs on the network
· Facilities management services for the 1200m2 of control centre and an exhibition room that welcomes visitors and dignitaries to the centre
Transport Scotland says that capitalising on a combination of more than 40 years of experience in operations and systems integration, these core services will be built on by the MOBIIE team and continuously improved through best practices brought through international experience from IBI Group and EGIS.
“The Traffic Scotland service plays a vital role for people using our trunk roads, closely monitoring the network and providing key travel information for road users 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Scotland’s Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey said. “This new contract will ensure Traffic Scotland continues to support the safe, efficient and resilient operation of Scotland’s trunk roads and I look forward to MOBIIE building on the success of the service in recent years.”
“Having worked with Transport Scotland for over 25 years, IBI Group looks forward to continuing to strengthen this relationship,” commented, Kevin Bebenek, IBI Group’s Global Director of Intelligence “Our joint venture with Egis draws upon the collective capabilities and expertise of both companies that will facilitate safe and efficient road network operations.”
Renaud Beziade, Chief Executive Officer Project Structuring, Operation and New Services, Egis, added, “For more than 20 years, Egis has been investing and working on projects across the United Kingdom and this project should enable us to strengthen Egis in the region. Our fruitful collaboration with IBI will allow us to address this wonderful challenge improving road safety on the entire 3500km of network combining high-hand technologies from IBI and well-known expertise in infrastructure management from Egis. We are grateful to Transport Scotland for their trust and confidence in Egis expertise.”
Meanwhile Amey will work with Traffic Scotland to inspect and improve all intelligent transport systems, transmission buildings and associated communications equipment.
With over 12,000 intelligent transport system (ITS) assets across Scotland, Amey will operate and maintain variable messaging signs, CCTV, emergency roadside telephones (ERTs) and various power and communication cabinets.
Graeme Dey, said: “We have a wide range of intelligent transport systems around our trunk road network, and this contract will ensure the continued maintenance of existing equipment as well as the design and construction of new systems.
“This equipment plays a critical role in supporting the capture and provision of essential information to road users and I look forward to Amey continuing to help support the safe, efficient and resilient operation of Scotland’s trunk road network and the Traffic Scotland service.”
Worth over £6m per annum, the contract will also focus on supporting the creation of sustainable futures for communities. Amey’s approach to social value will encompass giving back to the local community through supporting employment and local skills with work experience and professional training opportunities. To inspire future generations, Amey employees will also work closely with local schools to encourage young people to offer career advice to build skills and confidence and consider the infrastructure industry as a long-term employment opportunity.
Amey has been Transport Scotland’s ITS equipment maintenance provider since December 2004, and this new contract will begin in March 2022. The contract will run for five years and has the option to extend for up to a further two years.
Peter Anderson, Managing Director of Transport Infrastructure at Amey, said: “We are delighted to be awarded the new technology infrastructure contract with Transport Scotland. This strengthens our long-term relationship delivering critical infrastructure services across Scotland to maintain a reliable transport network which keeps road users moving safely and smoothly at all times.”
Amey has worked with Transport Scotland for over 20 years, managing and maintaining hundreds of miles of the motorway and trunk road network across Scotland, as well as providing key consultancy services such as asset management, design services and environmental management.
(Picture – Transport Scotland)
