UTMC has been in existence since the early 1990s. Beginning as a research project, it developed under DfT and it predecessors into a broad, technically-focussed framework for the interconnection of diverse ITS with a role in traffic management. Functions within the scope of UTMC included – and still include – traffic detection, signal control, variable message signs, car parking, incidents and accidents, air quality, and several others.

The approach of UTMC (www.utmc.uk)has always been to focus on the exchange of data between applications, in common and standardised formats, rather than the functionality of the applications themselves. This leaves suppliers free to innovate their products and facilitates a dynamic marketplace, while simplifying the acquisition, integration, operation and maintenance of tools by local highways authorities (LHAs) and others.

UTMC is now a TTF Working Group where the role and scope of UTMC will be shaped to meet new opportunities, while also assisting LHAs in maintaining their legacy systems until they reach the end of their operational lifespan, and sustaining the effectiveness of today’s UTMC implementations in a toolset to meet the challenges of today’s world