User:Hants.romanse/sandbox

ROMANSE (Road MANagement System for Europe), was conceived as a partnership between Hampshire County Council and Southampton and Portsmouth City Councils which aims to influence travel behaviour by the provision of up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information and the use of modern traffic management techniques.

Traffic and Travel Information Centre (TTIC)
The ROMANSE (Road MANagement Systems for Europe) control room located in Winchester, is operated by Hampshire County council. The ROMANSE Traffic and Travel Information Centre (TTIC), utilises various tools such as CCTV and sign management systems, many of which were developed as part of the European Commission funded ROMANSE project, to deliver traffic and travel information and control in a coherent and integrated manner across the region.

History
In 1992 Government estimates indicated a 100% increase in road traffic by 2020. Using only traditional construction technologies and road management strategies such a rise could prove disastrous. The ROMANSE project commenced in Southampton during May 1992 as a pilot scheme to develop a flexible solution to the problem of increasing congestion. By making better use of existing infrastructure and resources, ROMANSE aimed to maintain sustainable economic and social transport systems.

Utilising Intelligent transport systems (ITS) ROMANSE would provide accurate, timely and accessible information to travellers both before and during their journeys. People could then make informed choices about their route, time of journey and, most importantly, method of transport. The system would even allow them to change route whilst travelling to avoid congestion and by so doing would maximise the efficiency of the existing network.

ROMANSE was run by a consortium of partners from the public and private sectors led by Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council. The project provided real time information to travellers, network managers and transport providers across the City of Southampton and the southern part of Hampshire.

System Integration
Each system is important in its own right, but it is the integration of all the elements which has made the ROMANSE project so effective. The Central Office Management for intEgrated Traffic (COMET) system (designed by Siemens Traffic) replaced the old Integrated Traffic Management Computer (ITMC). UTMC enables a number of individual systems to be operated centrally and serves as a central database. The system also interfaces to the Travel Information Highway (TIH) which enables data to be exchanged with other interested parties.

The systems developed as part of the ROMANSE project are now being expanded geographically and technically as an intrinsic part of Hampshire's operational and network management responsibility. Enhancements have been made to many systems and new ones are now being installed.

Public Attitudes
The final stage of the ROMANSE project included a programme of extensive monitoring and evaluation with a particular emphasis on public attitudes. All the studies indicated a widespread public desire for access to better travel information whilst planning and undertaking their journeys. The positive public response to all the ROMANSE systems during the pilot project has enabled the financial support to be obtained to expand these systems into other areas of Hampshire.