Intelligent spaces company, Purple, announces today that it is part of a team that has won a contract to design and implement a data-led smart transportation platform for the Greater Manchester City Region.
Purple is teaming up with Cisco, the worldwide technology leader, and a number of other technology innovation partners to deliver the proof of concept solution called CitySpire, which is funded by a grant from InnovateUK, the UK innovation agency.
The project will be integral to a plan to bring a sustainable model for city transport to Greater Manchester. Supported by Transport for Greater Manchester and Simply Connect, an affiliated partner of the TravelSpirit Foundation, it will position Manchester as a global leader in smart transportation.
With the city among the most congested in Europe, the so-called CitySpire model will answer a need to replace timetabled transport and pre-determined routes with a responsive solution that matches demand. It will ensure that passengers do not have to fit their mobility into, or plan their lives around, fixed schedules.
City Spire will involve creating a demand aggregation service presenting groups of passengers to transport operators. This will be achieved by combining location-based data from Bluetooth and WiFi network operators to create context-aware knowledge, enabling demand-responsive transport services.
The initiative will be led by the Cisco CREATE team based out of Manchester’s Science Park and it is due to commence in Q2.
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple, said, “We are absolutely delighted by the news. We’re so excited to further strengthen our partnership with Cisco by working on such an innovative and ground breaking project, with a team of partners of such high calibre. I’m from Greater Manchester and Purple is headquartered here, so it’s also important to me to have the opportunity to make a positive difference to the city.”