A collaborative platform to ease traffic in Rennes

The solution’s effectiveness depends on the involvement and collaboration of all urban traffic participants

A new digital collaborative tool operating in Rennes aims to smooth out traffic flow in the city. The Metropolitan authorities of the French city presented “À la bonne heure” at the beginning of this month. To become successful, the tool will rely on traffic participants’ involvement and their understanding of other traffic participants’ needs and the constraints they live and work in.

There might be a better time to start the workday than what you thought

“À la bonne heure”, which translates from French as “At the right time”, requires the participants to fuel data on their departure and arrival times on each day of the week, as well as their preferred mode of transport. Based on the information received, the platform creates an interactive map, showing the traffic flow and how it evolves throughout the week.

The platform thus allows travellers to easily visualise the major traffic peaks around the working areas in the city and take the appropriate measures to avoid them. The solution is naturally addressed at those who enjoy some dose of flexibility regarding their work/study day's start and end times and should convince them to leave for their commute outside of rush hours.

This way, they will make space for those who have more rigid schedules. The ultimate objective is to alleviate the pressure on public transport and roads of Rennes, as France is gradually exiting the lockdown caused by COVID-19.

The interactive map can be consulted online on this link. The extent to which the new tool will be useful will depend on the number of users and the amount of data received – the more information uploaded to the system, the better.  

Finally, the online solution is just one among many alternatives tested in Rennes to alleviate traffic jams and to prevent crowding on public transport. In the past, the city had also issued invitations to employers to rethink working hours and remote working options, while at the same time it had shifted university lecture hours.