Urban Traffic Management System

Urban Traffic Management Control (UTMC) is an open standard approach for network and traffic management. UTMC is supported by the Department for Transport (DfT), and systems have been deployed by numerous Local Highway Authorities (LHAs) across the UK and by Highways England.

UTMC is a critical service ensuring that Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) meets its legal duties under the Traffic Management Act (2004), specifically Part 2 of the Act places a network management duty on LTAs. Section 16 (1) states:

"It is the duty of a local traffic authority to manage their road network with a view to achieving, so far as may be reasonably practicable having regard to their other obligations, policies and objectives, the following objectives:

(a) securing the expeditious movement of traffic on the authority's road network; and,

(b) facilitating the expeditious movement of traffic on road networks for which another authority is the traffic authority."

OCC current UTMC contract is due to end in November 2021 unless otherwise extended and OCC therefore intends to procure a new UTMC to deliver its broader transportation strategy.

Network management is a crucial service for road users, so OCC is looking to maximise the use of existing infrastructure and assets whilst also harnessing emerging technology developments to provide a more holistic and proactive approach to managing the network. Coupled with the drive for active travel and push for a 'connected' future, OCC are scoping out the future roadmap for UTMC and its role in network management.

Oxfordshire County Council has commissioned work from a variety of suppliers as part of the Gov Tech Challenge initiative to develop and implement next generation Urban Traffic Management Control (UTMC) solutions from November 2021. This work has been funded by central government and is likely to contribute to the future provision of data platforms and traffic information services.

However, there are certain core UTMC requirements that are unlikely to be delivered through this process, including a common database, strategy management function, operational interfaces and, critically, integration of all these traffic management solutions with the core data platform. This procurement seeks to provide a core UTMC system/service along with the necessary interfaces to other systems