Postcode Anywhere Launches Route Optimiser for....

21 April 2010, 10:58am

Postcode Anywhere Launches Route Optimiser for OS MasterMap

Tool that re-orders journey waypoints can cut journey times, carbon emissions and fuel costs by over 20%

Worcester-based IT firm Postcode Anywhere unveils a new range of web-based services today, designed to help Local Government Authorities make the most of the Integrated Transport Network (ITN) Layer data, part of Ordnance Survey’s MasterMap.
Free to Local Government Authorities (LGAs) under the Mapping Services Agreement, the data could be used to help strategic services – but is ineffective without a way for councils to access and manipulate it.
Postcode Anywhere’s new route optimisation web service cuts journey times and fuel cost across complex journeys (with multiple stop-offs) by over 20%.
Postcode Anywhere MD Guy Mucklow said: “Postcode Anywhere’s services finally allow LGAs to tap into the data they’re entitled to use under the Mapping Services Agreement.
“By opening up the data in this way, Postcode Anywhere has now given local government the tools it needs to drive service delivery to the next level.”
Chief Architect Richard Geary added: “Possible applications of the Postcode Anywhere services range from planning transportation routes to calculating or redefining catchment areas such as school bus pass entitlement.
“By making use of this kind of technology, government can start to realise the value of these datasets. We still read in the press about school bus controversies and so-called “postcode lotteries” - often a result of inaccurate reporting tools.
“The days of taking a wooden trundle-wheel out of the back of the closet to settle boundary disputes should be in the distant past, but they’re still here with us to this day.
“Now Postcode Anywhere has built in reliable, useful ways to access and manipulate the data, LGAs can deal with these kinds of issues by clicking a mouse or typing out a few postcodes.”
The new web services include:
• Distance – Works out the distance between two locations, either “as-the-crow-flies” or by road, using the quickest or shortest route. ‘Polylines’ and ‘TOIDs’ which allow the route to be placed on a map are optional
• Nearest – Retrieves an ordered list of nearest locations, within a given radius of a grid reference or postcode
• Single Vehicle Optimise – Re-sequences a set of locations to obtain the shortest route that visits them all
Postcode Anywhere’s new route planning service can be found at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/route-planner-services/api.aspx. Users wishing to trial the services will need a data licence as given under the Pan Government or Mapping Services Agreement.

www.postcodeanywhere.com

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