NLEX offers new traffic monitoring technology

Operators in the NLEX control room monitor the flow of vehicles through television cameras and locate the exact position of patrol vehicles throughout the highway using the AVLS. This makes it easier to dispatch patrol vehicles closest to an incident, greatly reducing their response time. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), along with a Filipino company, has developed a new technology called Automatic Vehicle Locator System (AVLS) that will help improve the response time of patrol vehicles to any incident throughout the highway.

Gerry Aberilla, vice president for Traffic Operations of Tollways Management Corporation (TMC), said the software programming was developed by a 100 percent Filipino-owned company in partnership with TMC. Filipino software programmers were challenged in creating the system because it was customized for the real-time needs of TMC.

“Development began last year and it was optimized just July of this year” Aberilla said in an exclusive interview. AVLS will be fully utilized in the traffic management of the NLEX during the exodus of people for the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. This will be the first time AVLS will be tested in a major event, he added.

AVLS uses gadgets implanted within the 43 patrol vehicles of TMC to determine their exact location anywhere along NLEX using the Global Position System (GPS). The control room in the NLEX compound near Balintawak can see where the patrol vehicles are in real-time and inform the nearest to respond to any incident closest to its location, Aberilla said.

This has significantly reduced the response time of patrol vehicles from 20 minutes to 10 minutes according to Rodrigo Franco, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Manila North Tollways Corporation.

The traffic control room is manned by two operators and one supervisor who receive reports, observe Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) and monitor the locations of the patrol vehicles. Any incident that happens can immediately be dispatched to the nearest patrol vehicle. The traffic control room operates 24 hours a day – everyday.

AVLS operates in partnership with Smart Telecommunications for their wireless communications service, Aberilla said.

Only NLEX has the AVLS but is intended to be used in other expressways soon, he added.