General points
These are relatively straightforward to understand and measure. The applications take many forms but the basic concept is largely the same. Applications often involve collaborations between public sector and private sector organisations. Examples include provision of authoritative public sector road data for navigation services, better routing of waste collection, saving money on vehicles and staff, and directing emergency services to the scene of an emergency.
Case studies
In 2006, Daventry District Council in England undertook a feasibility study to look at the potential to improve the efficiency of waste collections. They compared new routes optimised using a software package called RouteSmart against routes that had historically been produced using local knowledge and experience. The following cash savings were identified: mileage reduction of 12-13% delivering savings of GBP 25,000 p.a.; spare capacity to allow for vehicle washing, securing savings of GBP 17,000 p.a.; employee overtime virtually eliminated, saving approximately GBP 28,000 p.a.; purchasing a smaller waste collection vehicle, saving GBP 25,000. Subsequently, route optimisation enabled the number of weekly collection rounds to be reduced from 18 to 16, yielding manpower savings and avoiding the need to purchase additional vehicles, with cash savings of GBP 153,000 p.a. (see The Value of Geospatial Information to Local Public Service Delivery in England and Wales, 2010).
The EULF project participated in a transportation pilot in Norway and Sweden sharing road safety data on a more regular basis between road authorities and map providers (Tom Tom and Here) and help improve the accuracy of their navigation systems. One of the map providers reported a reduction in errors from 25% to 7%. This was due largely to increasing the frequency of update rather than improvements in data quality or using a standard exchange format. The standard exchange format did however enable these multinational companies to implement common processes in different countries (there is now roll out in CEF with 14 countries). These are not ‘end-user benefits, though one could envisage benefits for drivers from having more up-to-date and therefore accurate information in their navigation systems.