Smart Prio Lviv – Technology as an expression of resilience

Modern traffic infrastructure is the backbone of any thriving city, forming the foundation of how people, goods and services move within and between cities, regions and countries. In almost every single daily operation we are dependent from a well-developed transport network, may it be for commute, frequent errands or simply to reach venues where we spend our free time.
Within this network, public transport (buses and trams) enables large numbers of people to move efficiently across the city, reducing traffic congestion and lowering travel times for both individuals and goods. One of the key reasons why it is so essential is its ability to offer an affordable and accessible means of travel for all citizens, particularly for those who don’t want or cannot afford private vehicles or who live in areas where driving is not practical. By prioritizing public transit, cities promote social equity, ensuring that everyone—regardless of socioeconomic background—has access to jobs, education, healthcare and other essential services. 

Smart traffic management – an investment in a better future


Well-planned infrastructure not only improves the immediate quality of life but also attracts investment, fosters economic growth and helps a city remain competitive on a global scale. In an era of rapid technological advancement, cities with modern infrastructure can better meet the evolving needs of their population, ensuring resilience in the face of current and future challenges.
Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, has recently seen significant infrastructure development, blending its rich cultural heritage with modern urban planning. The city's public transport system has seen notable improvements, with investments in trams and buses, aimed at making transportation more efficient and environmentally friendly. Roads have been expanded and upgraded to accommodate increasing traffic, while pedestrian zones and bike lanes have been introduced to promote more sustainable mobility.
But still they were facing the problem that some intersections became real traffic hot spots, causing congestions and dangerous situations, which in turn sometimes brought public transportation to a standstill.

We solve present challenges without overlooking the road ahead


When we consider how important functioning mobility is for the beforementioned aspects of our lives, it was essential for the city administration to respond as quickly as possible.
A smart, sophisticated, yet easily deployable solution was essential to address the city's challenges. Given their positive past experiences with SWARCO, city representatives reached out to our traffic engineers from SWARCO Sweden for support and find ways to relieve traffic congestion at four specific intersections had been hot spots in the past, frequently making it difficult for buses and trams to get through.
The choice fell on Smart Priority, SWARCO's cloud-based solution for traffic light priority. The system enables the prioritization of certain buses and trams based on their line and in relation to the timetable. It sends priority requests based on the position and uses virtual detector points that can be positioned and repositioned on a digital map, which leads to significant improvements on the traffic flow and also offers the opportunity to prioritize emergency vehicles in the event of an emergency.

No additional hardware, just pure cost-efficiency!


The installation was quite straight forward: most of the city’s intersections have already been equipped with our modern ITC-3 traffic light controllers capable of managing complex traffic patterns, so no additional hardware was needed to run the solution. This allows small cities or budget-constrained cities like Lviv facing certain restrictions, to still implement the most advanced traffic management solutions.
Furthermore, the connection to ITC-3 makes intersections ready for the implementation of CCAM-applications (Connected, Cooperative & Automated Mobility), enables communication and cooperation between vehicles, infrastructure and other road users for increasing road safety and efficiency, and it will also allow full integration of automated vehicles into the overall transport system in the future.


Optimism based on global experience


According to our experience, Smart Prio can reduce the travel time in the city center by 15% or even more. As the solution in Lviv only went live a few days ago, there are no reliable statistics yet. But based on the preceding simulations, this improvement should definitely be achieved at the affected intersections.
Smart Priority is not completely new in the world of traffic management. It is much more, a well-thought-out, reliable and cost-effective solution that is already helping to solve everyday road traffic problems worldwide on a total of 900 registered intersections with 3000 virtual detector zones. Today, the network includes 14500 prioritized vehicles sending over 20000 messages every second. To make this number more tangible: a total of 4 mio. priorities were granted in July 2024 over all intersections equipped with Smart Prio! That means 4 mio. times where either a tram or a bus reached its destination in time with the lowest environmental impact, or more importantly, 4 mio. times an emergency vehicle arrived at the scene of accident saving those crucial seconds that can mean the difference between life and death. This is what we call

The Better Way. Every Day.

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