We are pleased to announce the winner of our Dare to Solve: Roadworks Contest in partnership with Staffordshire County Council, Amey and Elgin, which sought to find innovative digital solutions to help better inform and communicate with the public about upcoming and ongoing roadworks. The successful business, Beepz.me, has been awarded £10,000 to help them to develop their technology.

It is estimated that that British motorists spend 30 hours a year stuck in traffic, costing £300 billion to the economy over the next 16 years in delays, time lost and associated inefficiency. By seeking solutions to better communicate with motorists this contest aimed to help reduce some of the pain associated with this.

The winning company was selected following the contest final event which saw three finalists pitching to a panel of challenge partners and industry experts. In addition to funding, Beepz.me have won the opportunity to develop a prototype of their idea alongside some of the leading forces in infrastructure services, while keeping 100 per cent of their intellectual property.

 James Manning, CEO of Beepz.me, said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to enable road users to obtain and receive information on roadworks which affect their journey. The information will be tailored, relevant and most of all useful. We are looking forward to collaborating with all of the challenge partners to deliver this solution and reducing the pain of roadworks.”

 Beepz.me’s solution will tackle the issue of roadworks by providing a tailorable platform for road users to receive information and live updates on planned and emergency works on their routes, in advance of travel, directly to their smartphone.

Mark Deaville, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said:

“Staffordshire County Council is committed to improving the travel experience for road users and mitigating the impact of roadworks on the lives of residents, businesses and vistors to the region. Through this collaborative trial with Beepz.me, Amey, and Elgin, we’ll be better able to more strategically communicate our essential works to make our roads better for Staffordshire residents.”

This contest is part of the Staffordshire Connected Roadworks Programme where we are partnering with key players within the geographic area of Staffordshire to build a collaborative smart cities platform.