C-ITS use case exploration for public transport
Melbourne’s tram network operates within one of the world’s most complex shared road environments, where trams, cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians interact in close proximity. These interactions contribute to safety risks, with the focus of this research on vehicle/tram collisions at roundabouts and hook turn conflicts.
This project will investigate how C-ITS can address these challenges by enabling real-time communication between trams, motor vehicles (including motorcycles), and roadside infrastructure.
By trialling connected safety and advisory warnings in live conditions, the project will generate evidence on how C-ITS can reduce conflicts, improve situational awareness, and support safer, more efficient public transport operations across Australia.
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Project background
On-road incidents between trams and other road users accounted for 168 police/hospital recorded injury crashes in the past five years. Of these, there were 210 injured people (68 serious and 142 other injuries)1. When looking at these incidents, 31.5% were from illegal maneuverers, where drivers entered a tram zone, 29.2% right-hook turns across a trams path and the remainder a combination of other events, including roundabouts, rear-ending trams and pedestrians boarding/exiting trams on road.
From the injury-crash subset, the data has intersections overrepresented, with 60.7% of injury crashes occurred at intersections, consistent with turning conflicts (right hook /u-turn). Incidents not reported by police/hospital are much higher, with the Tram-Plan released by the Victorian State Government noting there to be “about 1000 vehicle-to-tram collisions every year” 2.
These are incidents sought to be reduced by engineering separations, however, about 75% of Melbourne’s tram network operates in streets shared with other traffic 2 where road engineering-based separations are difficult and expensive. As such, there is opportunity to explore how emerging technologies could be applied to specific locations where incidents are more likely to occur, as opposed to relying on segregating road space.
This project will apply Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) to known safety and operational problems that occur where trams and road vehicles interact within Melbourne’s shared road environment. Rather than testing technology in isolation, the project will focus on real locations and scenarios where incidents continue to occur and where improved real-time awareness between road users has the potential to change behaviour and reduce risk.
A wide range of C-ITS use cases are potentially relevant to public transport operating in shared road environments. Safety-focused applications of C-ITS include tram approach warnings at hook turn intersections and roundabouts, emergency electronic brake light alerts, vulnerable road user (VRU) proximity detection for pedestrians and cyclists at stops, work zone warnings, and heavy vehicle proximity alerts.
Operational applications include tram-to-tram communication for convoy management, and real-time incident notification. Not all of these use cases are equally mature, equally feasible within a short project timeframe, or equally aligned with the specific safety problems observed on Melbourne’s tram network, so only two of these will be considered for this research.
The outputs of the project will provide evidence and implementation guidance that can be adopted by jurisdictions across Australia, supporting nationally aligned C-ITS deployment and enabling measurable improvements in safety and network performance at known conflict points.
Project objectives
The main project objective is to evaluate the practical feasibility and effectiveness of delivering C-ITS messages in real-world conditions, particularly for public transport operators.
Please note …
This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!
References
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