Learn how Central Texas toll roads achieved faster incident response times

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority

Created in 2002, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (Mobility Authority) is an independent government agency serving the Austin metro and surrounding region with a mission to develop, deliver, operate, and maintain high-quality roadways and related transportation solutions. The Mobility Authority operates several of the major toll roads in the region, all of which garner heavy usage.  With extensive and rapid growth in the Austin region, whose population is expected to exceed 3 million by 2040, the use of the toll roads is only expected to grow and additional roadway capacity, including toll roads, will be needed. The use of toll financing ensures critical projects can be completed quicker, while also including bicycle and pedestrian facilities, enhancing multimodal connectivity. The Mobility Authority's long-term planning is designed to ensure that the infrastructure keeps pace with the region’s growth.

Challenges Facing the Mobility Authority

The Mobile Authority has been managing traffic since the first toll lanes opened in 2007. They understand that to quickly respond to incidents they need visibility into what is happening on the roadways, at all times. Congestion on toll roads degrades the commute experience for users due to less reliable travel times and impacts sustainability goals due to increased emissions. The Mobility Authority was looking to leverage advances in technology to implement innovative solutions that could rapidly detect more of what was happening on the roadways, enabling quicker response.

The Solution: Rekor Command™

The Mobility Authority’s primary focus has always been detecting abnormalities on their roadways as quickly as possible. They knew technology was critical for supporting this goal, because as the region grows, it becomes nearly impossible to manually detect incidents. The Mobility Authority’s innovative leaders learned about the Rekor Command platform at a transportation conference and started to explore more of its capabilities. After a thorough review of the technology and recognizing that the platform could house the data from all existing ITS devices (CCTV, DMS, roadway sensors) and leverage third-party data providers, the Mobility Authority implemented Rekor Command in early 2020.

“At the end of day Rekor Command has made our operators’ lives easier. They work hundreds of incidents a month, so if we can make their days easier with a platform that's easy to use, it means something. Additionally, the ability to detect quickly means we can get help to the people involved in the incident faster, clear incidents faster, and get people on their way faster. That assists not only the folks that are involved in the incident, but people that are driving through the area. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Keeping people safe and moving.” – Fabiola Bowers, Traffic and Incident Manager, Mobility Authority

The Mobility Authority implemented Rekor Command just before the start of the pandemic. The smooth onboarding process and user-friendly system meant that when, shortly after implementation, the staff was forced to go remote, they were able to seamlessly transition to remote management leveraging the new platform. The benefits the Mobility Authority experienced with the new platform were extensive. First and foremost, the platform achieved the primary goal – detecting more incidents faster. But in addition to its detection capabilities, the Mobility Authority saw process efficiencies, including the ability to notify the public directly from the platform and seamless collaboration across the team, reducing the time spent on each incident. Furthermore, the analytics capabilities enabled quick identification of hot spots or areas of concern that might need operational improvements or other interventions to improve safety. Managers could see the performance of the team and, where required, retrain quickly, upskilling everyone, including operators that may be new to transportation management. Overall, faster detection, more collaboration, and deeper insights ensure that even if the Mobility Authority cannot stop the first incident, they can stop the second, keeping roadway users safe and traffic moving.

• 324% increase in incidents detected

• 11 minutes faster median detection time

• 641 incidents detected monthly, on average

*Data reflects performance from January – May 2024.

“Everything about Rekor Command is better than what we had” – Lewis Igwe, TMC Operations Manager, KAPSCH, the Mobility Authority

Coordinating Across The Region

Implementing Rekor Command at the Mobility Authority was a critical first step in elevating traffic operations in the region. However, the Central Texas region will see an unprecedented decade of infrastructure development, with over 35 major projects planned from 2023 to 2032. This level of development necessitates coordination and communication beyond the traditional walls of any single organization. To enable this, the Mobility Authority, along with its regional partner agencies, including TxDOT Austin District Office, created the Construction Partnership Program (CPP). This program is designed to ensure safety, maintain mobility, and reduce community impact, by creating the platform that will support construction coordination, communicate directly with the public, implement strategies to reduce traffic demand near construction projects, and use technology to optimize traffic flow.

Rekor Command, along with Rekor’s Incident Detection API and Work Zone Activity API, will be central in supporting CPP's integrated information-sharing platform and situational awareness strategies that are crucial to mitigating disruptions and ensuring long-term coordination and mobility enhancements throughout the next decade.

Conclusion

Transportation agencies cannot transform the transportation system by simply using the same tools and processes they have used in the past, nor can they simply hire their way to transformation. Fundamental changes require a new approach. Public and private partnerships are crucial in achieving the transformation needed to ensure a safer, more reliable, more sustainable, and more affordable experience for all travelers. Rekor Command is a proven investment that will bring value and be the force multiplier agencies need to truly achieve real-time traffic management and maximize their resources by seeing more of what is happening on the roadways, faster. The Mobility Authority’s use of Rekor Command enabled them to detect more incidents faster, pivot quickly to remote management during the pandemic, improve the efficiency of their operators, hire and train new operators faster, and more precisely and accurately pinpoint an incident to enable faster more coordinated responses. These benefits ensure the Mobility Authority is leading the way in transforming the transportation system to meet the mobility demands of their region, leveraging technology and AI to reduce congestion in the Austin region, ensuring motorists get to their destinations safely and efficiently.