SYSTRA and TomTom Team Up to Revolutionise Transport Planning

SYSTRA and TomTom Team Up to Revolutionise Transport Planning

In a bold stride toward shaping the future of urban mobility, SYSTRA Limited has selected TomTom as its go-to provider for digital maps, real-time traffic data, and location-based services. The move aims to supercharge the transport consultancy giant’s urban planning and modelling capabilities across the UK and Ireland, driving better infrastructure decisions and helping cities breathe easier – both literally and figuratively.

The partnership sees SYSTRA tap into TomTom’s advanced location intelligence technologies, enabling its teams to build data-rich, highly accurate transport models. These aren’t your average traffic maps. We’re talking about digital twins of entire urban systems that reflect the gritty realities of congestion, bottlenecks, and commuter patterns.

Evidence-driven insights for urban mobility

At the heart of this collaboration lies a shared mission: to make transport networks smarter, greener, and more efficient. SYSTRA’s decision to integrate TomTom’s Orbis Maps and a full suite of traffic analytics tools into their consultancy arsenal is already making waves.

“We recognise the critical role that accurate and reliable maps and movement data plays in effective urban transport planning and design,” said Chris Judge, Director of Consultancy at SYSTRA Limited. “Partnering with TomTom allows us to utilise their market-leading technologies to enhance our modelling and appraisal work on behalf of our clients, assisting us in developing sustainable infrastructure and mobility solutions that help communities and economies thrive.”

Thanks to this tech infusion, SYSTRA’s experts can now simulate complex travel scenarios, weigh the effects of proposed infrastructure projects, and visualise outcomes in a way that decision-makers can easily digest.

A European powerhouse duo

This isn’t just a UK-first initiative. SYSTRA teams around the world have already been harnessing TomTom’s location data with impressive results. Now, their UK and Ireland colleagues are joining the global fold, bringing local insights into a much larger ecosystem of international transport innovation.

TomTom, headquartered in Amsterdam and boasting a 3,600-strong global workforce, has spent more than three decades fine-tuning its expertise. From powering navigation in millions of vehicles to delivering enterprise-grade APIs and SDKs, the company has redefined what it means to be a mapmaker in the digital age.

Benoit Joly, SVP Sales at TomTom, added: “We are proud to partner with SYSTRA Limited and collaborate on driving innovation and digital transformation across the public sector. By harnessing our maps and traffic data, SYSTRA will be well-equipped to deliver transformative improvements to infrastructure in the UK and Ireland, easing congestion and enhancing environmental sustainability.”

Modelling with meaning

So, how exactly does this tech partnership translate to real-world results? Here’s what SYSTRA will be able to do better with TomTom’s location intelligence:

1. Simulate real traffic behaviour: Dynamic traffic patterns and multi-modal travel options can now be replicated with greater fidelity.

2. Evaluate proposed infrastructure changes: From new bypasses to updated public transport routes, potential impacts can be forecast with confidence.

3. Support data-backed decision-making: Local authorities and national transport planners get actionable insights, not just projections.

4. Champion sustainable outcomes: By measuring carbon reduction, travel time savings, and economic benefit, projects can be assessed for long-term impact.

And let’s not overlook the added benefit: clearer communication. Whether it’s with stakeholders, investors or the public, SYSTRA’s models and simulations will make transport planning more transparent and inclusive.

Creating liveable, connected communities

With around 1,000 employees in the UK and Ireland, and 11,000 worldwide, SYSTRA has long been a name synonymous with sustainable infrastructure. From rail to roads, its multidisciplinary teams design systems that connect people to education, healthcare, jobs, and each other.

Now, equipped with TomTom’s data-rich tools, the consultancy is poised to accelerate the design of more resilient, future-ready networks. As digital infrastructure and real-world engineering converge, the companies are betting big on the power of data to fuel not just progress, but positive change.

In cities like London, Dublin, Belfast and Manchester, where congestion is a daily struggle and investment decisions often walk a political tightrope, tools that bring clarity and predictability to planning are a game changer.

A step forward for sustainable infrastructure

For those keeping a close eye on the evolving landscape of smart cities, this partnership signals more than a tech upgrade. It underscores a growing commitment across the public and private sectors to base infrastructure investments on hard data and evidence-based modelling.

With environmental pressures mounting, urban populations growing, and economic inequality widening, transport planning needs to do more than simply move people around. It needs to connect communities, reduce carbon footprints, and drive long-term regional growth.

The SYSTRA-TomTom alliance, then, isn’t just a neat tech story. It’s a blueprint for how modern transport decisions can (and should) be made in the 21st century.

A promising road ahead

From autonomous vehicle research to climate-conscious city design, the tools provided by TomTom are already influencing tomorrow’s infrastructure. Combined with SYSTRA’s planning acumen and people-first design ethos, the road ahead looks smarter, safer, and far more connected.

One thing’s for certain: if you’re a policy maker, planner, investor or engineer looking at the future of mobility in the UK and Ireland, this is a partnership worth watching.