M50 Barrier Free Tolling Reduces Travel Times

New research by Mapflow has revealed that the introduction of barrier-free tolling on the M50 on August 30 has reduced average travel times in either direction by 5.5 minutes, which adds up to roughly €67,000* worth of work-time saved per day. Those travelling Southbound still tend to have a quicker journey than those travelling Northbound. Southbound journey times on the M50 between the Finglas exit and the Naas Road Exit (11kms) were just over 9 minutes, an improvement of nearly 6 minutes versus the 15 minute average journey time which existed before barrier-free tolling. The average travel time for the same distance in the opposite direction reduced from 21 minutes to 16 minutes. Mapflow’s CEO Richard Bryce commented “This research is very interesting in that it backs up the logic behind barrier-free tolling in relation to travel times, it also reveals that congestion patterns on the M50 also changed; the slowest sections on the M50 moved from the toll bridge area to the Blanchardstown exit area going Northbound, while moving from the toll bridge area to the Red Cow junction going Southbound”. There’s particularly good news for those heading Southbound as the research shows that it is much easier to plan your journey in advance as estimated journey times have become more predictable. After the barriers were lifted 80% of Southbound journeys recorded were within 1 ½ minutes of the 9 minute average journey time.  Before the barriers were lifted journeys were much less predictable – 80% of Southbound journeys were within a much wider 5 ½ minute range of the 15 minute average time. This was not replicated heading Northbound however, with less predictable journey times expected (80% within 9 minutes of the average journey time pre-barrier and 80% within 10.5 minutes of the average journey time after the barriers were lifted). The removal of the barriers hasn’t all been good news and the M50 is still prone to significant Northbound bottlenecks at peak periods.  After the introduction of barrier-free tolling the slowest recorded journey between the Naas Road and Finglas exits was 35 minutes, at 5.30pm on 10 September. Still, it’s a huge improvement on the whopping 54 minutes recorded for the same journey on 12 August.   The findings are based on recordings of 136 journeys during the 3 weeks before the barriers were lifted and 94 journeys during the first 12 days after the introduction of barrier-free tolling. Mapflow collected journey time data on the M50 by driving ‘probe’ vehicles between Junction 5 (Finglas exit) and Junction 9 (Naas Road exit) during morning and evening rush-hour peaks.  At any time Mapflow had up to 2 probe vehicles on the M50, one driving Northbound and one driving Southbound.  This research has allowed Mapflow to complete an in-depth analysis of the impact of removing the toll bridge in terms of travel times. Mapflow installed GPS devices, into each of their probe vehicles and then measured the time to travel every 100 metre road segment along the M50.  This gave a unique insight into journey patterns on the M50, where the main congestion points are and how traffic conditions vary between Northbound and Southbound journeys. ENDS About Mapflow Mapflow works with public and private sector organisations responsible concerned with our road infrastructure; they help such organisations to free up congestion, reduce fatal accidents and improve the environment. They do this by developing technology, knowledge and expertise related to the utilisation of GPS, GIS (mapping) and communications technologies within transportation solutions. Mapflow works with their clients to design and implement solutions in the following areas: -   Road safety including intelligent speed adaptation; -   Capacity planning, journey time monitoring and traffic flow monitoring; -   Road pricing, such as congestion charging and other distance based pricing schemes; -   Value added service delivery such as traffic alerts, event alerts, real time passenger information; -   Rescue and recovery. For more information please visit www.mapflow.com. For access to an extended set of reports including detailed analysis of M50 journey times for each day surveyed, please contact transport@mapflow.com or telephone phone 01-6341430 and ask for Jonathan Guard. *Figures based on the average of 85,000 cars travelling through the toll per day and each car earning the minimum wage of €8.65 per hour.


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