Bursa Traffic Will Be Transported to the Future in a Safe and Healthy Way

With the Traffic Management Center implemented by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with TÜRKSAT, a first not only in Turkey but also in the world, a first took place in Bursa. Thanks to the system, where adaptive systems are installed at the most critical 35 intersections in Bursa and 250 intersections are remotely controlled, the speed data between the intersections with the moving vehicle data are examined, the traffic flow is accelerated by ensuring coordination between the intersections.

Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which continues its investments in rail systems, new roads, road widening, bridges and intersections in order to produce radical solutions to the traffic problem in Bursa, has commissioned a new project that will break new ground in traffic management. Bursa traffic will be transported to the future in a safe and healthy way, in the light of technological and scientific methods, especially artificial intelligence, in the Traffic Management Center, which was implemented by the Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with TÜRKSAT. Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, accompanied by TÜRKSAT Deputy General Manager Ahmet Savaş, made investigations at the Traffic Management Center, where Bursa traffic is managed from a single center. Reminding that the number of vehicles in traffic is increasing day by day in Bursa, and this causes various negativities and disruptions, Mayor Aktaş said that they are working to prevent this, and in the light of technological and scientific methods, in order to safely carry Bursa traffic to the future, 'Bursa Urban Traffic Management Center Project'. Said they started it.

Technological follow-up

Providing information about the working system of the Traffic Management Center, Mayor Aktaş noted that traffic engineering studies were carried out at 20 intersections on the 90 busiest routes of the city. Within the scope of the project, vehicle counts were made at the intersections with the help of cameras. The number of detected vehicles and the micro and macro simulation software within the scope of traffic engineering, these intersections and the corridors formed by the intersections were analyzed regionally. Within the scope of this study, the capacities and capacity utilization rates of existing intersections were calculated by using signal time optimization software. At least 2 alternative geometric arrangement proposals were created for each intersection. The capacity and estimated capacity utilization rates of these proposals were simulated. With the new system, the number of vehicles in each direction is detected thanks to smart cameras. Vehicle tracking devices are used to detect traffic density at points that cameras cannot see. The adaptive intersection management system, which knows the number of vehicles and queue lengths in each direction connected to the intersection, manages the traffic lights completely depending on the vehicle density.

A first in the world

The system, which minimizes the average waiting time of the vehicles across the intersection, analyzes the moving vehicle data, densities and speed data between the intersections, and runs the intersections in the most efficient way by providing coordination between the intersections with its own algorithms. This technological system, the feasibility of which has been discussed for a long time all over the world, has been implemented for the first time in Bursa. In addition, start-arrival matrices are created in the city to detect the mobility in the city with the moving vehicle data. In this way, it is determined what percentage of the vehicles traveling in the traffic are coming from and where they are going on which route. In this way, the city will be examined in more detail on a macro and micro scale, where interconnection roads should be built, where there should be construction, how traffic should be managed from which routes, all of these will be determined. With this system, which is one of the most technological data at the moment, Bursa will be the first city in Turkey to direct its traffic and the development of the city.

Centralized management

Within the scope of the project, adaptive systems were installed at the most critical 35 intersections of Bursa, and 250 intersections were connected to the Traffic Management Center in a way that could be controlled remotely. At 35 intersections where adaptive systems are installed, there are 133 vehicle counting and 21 fisheye cameras for traffic management, 25 of these cameras work as discharge detection systems. With these cameras, the occupancy value is calculated according to the movement type of the vehicles and the intersections are managed dynamically. While the duration of the denser direction is extended, the duration of the low-density directions is shortened. With these 250 junctions connected to the center, the error conditions at the junctions and the instant situations of the junctions can be monitored, and if necessary, all junctions can be intervened from the Traffic Management Center. With the discharge detection systems developed within the scope of the project, if the junction departure arm cannot empty the junction, the system will detect this and light the red light on the relevant junction exit arm, preventing the interlocking of the intersection. In addition, within the scope of the project, 11 motion cameras were installed to monitor the junction area at critical points and 23 vehicle count cameras were installed to collect statistical data. Vehicle counts will be taken continuously at critical points of the city with vehicle count cameras and traffic arrangements will be made according to these statistics. It has been determined that 1 million 750 thousand vehicles pass through the intersections where the systems are installed on an average daily basis.

36 million lira fuel savings

Stating that situations such as vehicle malfunctions or traffic accidents that cause the traffic flow rate to decrease instantly, can now be seen instantly from the center, Mayor Aktaş said, “Thus, situations that negatively affect traffic such as accidents, vehicle breakdowns and the points where these events occur can be instantly detected. In this way, the interventions of the operators and the algorithms used and the effects of the negativities experienced at these points and the reaction times to these negativities will be minimized. As a result of this project, which we realized in cooperation with TÜRKSAT, approximately 36 million TL of fuel will be saved annually and 390 thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by improving travel and waiting times. Our project will be beneficial for all Bursa”.

Minibus conversion is accelerating

Reminding that they continue to work to reduce the traffic load in addition to physical investments and technological investments such as the Traffic Management Center, Mayor Aktaş said, “We have agreed with Gürsu and Kestel regarding the transformation of Eastern minibuses into private public buses. We agreed with most of Çirişhane. We are starting the transformation in the east with a vehicle of approximately 15-16 percent. In other words, we will meet the standard of green buses and public buses in the western part of the city, as well as in the east of the city. With both these investments and a technological investment such as the Traffic Management Center, we want to create a system that works like clockwork in traffic. As Bursa, we are enjoying the privilege of being a pioneer in implementing smart urban practices.”