How WSP Saves Time and Increases Visibility with Huq

Drawing on over 130 years of technical excellence, WSP offers a holistic approach to the transport and infrastructure planning, design and management. WSP’s transport team leverages the latest technologies and a culture of innovation to meet community needs.

Alberto Poltz Faggiani, a Principal Transport Planner at WSP leverages mobility data in conjunction with other data to provide transport consultancy services.

Before using Huq, Alberto faced a significant challenge with traditional camera-based data collection for his projects, enduring a lengthy six-week setup period just to obtain the necessary data. In order to understand historic data and insights, he had to see alternative sources from the internet, which often proved to be less immediately accessible and reliable for his project needs.

The main challenge that Alberto faced with the camera solution was its limitations in terms of cost, time, and data access. He highlighted the following pain points:

Alberto found traditional data collection methods, particularly traffic surveys using cameras, to be expensive and time-consuming. The process involved multiple steps like commissioning, obtaining permissions, and installing equipment.

The camera-based approach primarily focused on data gathered after camera setup and provided limited scope for comprehensive planning. It did not offer a holistic view of various modes of transportation.

Weather conditions could significantly impact the effectiveness of data collection through cameras, potentially leading to inaccurate or incomplete data. Other unpredictable factors also cause delays in data gathering.

As a result, Alberto and his team decided to try Huq, a new way of getting mobility insights.

The traditional way of collecting [mobility] data is expensive and slow … there’s also always issues with a camera and we end up needing to make up recordings, when they break down, are vandalised, have unpredictable weather or whatever it is. When things happen, you need to redo a survey, which takes another few weeks – more delays … With Huq, it just doesn’t matter because I have access to every day of the year.”

Alberto’s transition to Huq was driven by a desire to streamline the laborious process associated with camera set up, often involving time-consuming tasks like acquiring permissions, installing cameras, and enduring lengthy waiting periods for data retrieval.

In stark contrast to the traditional survey process, which could extend up to six weeks, Huq provides Alberto with the ability to access data in just one week. This remarkable reduction has significantly enhanced his own turnaround times.

As a bonus, Huq’s data offerings have proven to be more expansive and comprehensive. Alberto is also able to leverage Huq’s historical data to compare trends over time, regardless of weather conditions or other limitations. He is also able to run an analysis on valuable insights that you cannot capture with a singular or series of camera such as visitor dwell time, unique visitor demographics, and precise catchment information on visitor origins.

The flexibility of Huq’s platform is another noteworthy advantage. Alberto can effortlessly download data in a CSV format, enabling him to conduct in-depth analyses or seamlessly integrate it with other data sources, providing him with the adaptability needed to address his specific requirements.

Huq is much more cost effective and it’s not only that I can look at any specific day. Regardless of the weather conditions, I can go back in time as well and try to compare how that changes… It’s much more flexible and easy.”

• Time Savings. Huq offered a much faster turnaround time for data collection.
• Better Coverage. Huq’s platform enabled Aleberto to access both a high volume of data and a wide range of metrics.
• Efficiency. Huq eliminated the lengthy setup process and made it easy for Alberto to download data and use it for analysis, providing him with the freedom to manipulate it according to his specific needs.

Huq not only addressed Alberto’s main challenges, it provided a more efficient and cost-effective solution for his data collection needs in transportation planning.

Huq is a leading provider of data intelligence, delivering accurate and actionable mobility insights to empower strategic professionals in government, retail, real estate, and finance to make informed decisions with confidence.

Founded in 2014, Huq has been at the forefront of utilising cutting-edge technologies and innovative mobility research methods. Today, Huq proudly serves 300+ local councils, investors, as well as some of the largest retail and real estate companies.