TEC buses to get green light automatically at intersections

By the end of this year, buses and trams of the Belgian public transport company TEC in Wallonia will automatically get a green light when approaching a traffic light at an intersection. This will reduce travel times, causing fewer delays, and as another positive result, allow for fewer emissions if not yet electric.

To technically realize this V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), the ICT departments of TEC and SPW (Service Public de Wallonie) are working with Yunex Traffic, a global leader in intelligent traffic systems. The latter, formerly operating as Siemens ITS, has been an independent company since 2021 and was acquired by Italian holding company Atlantia Group in 2022.

Position transmitted constantly

The traffic lights get road units (RCM) installed and communicate over the cell phone network. To make the traffic light switch to green, the system constantly updates the  GPS position of the bum, and priority messages are transmitted by the onboard unit. This one is developed by TEC, while Yunex Traffic performs the message conversion to the crossroad infrastructure.

The Yunex Traffic system uses ICTraffic C-ITS, which complies with the European ETSI telecom standards, allowing it to be used seamlessly across borders. C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) use wireless technology to enable real-time vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

According to Yunex,  the whole system does not require any modification or extension of technical infrastructure or vehicles, making implementation and maintenance fast and cost-effective. The project’s first phase is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Automating 54 tunnels in Wallonia

The German specialist in intelligent traffic systems already won a tender in December last year to automate 54 tunnels with a total length of more than 7 600 meters in Wallonia.

This should increase traffic safety for drivers and facilitate traffic management for tunnel and highway operators. The project will be implemented in partnership with Spie Belgium and is expected to take 24 months.