London Live ‘Jam Cams’ Set To Ease The Capital’s Congestion

The daily battle to get to work faced by London commuters may be eased slightly in future, thanks to a new addition to the

The Jam Cam system is thought to be one of the biggest projects of its kind in Europe and is provided through a partnership with the Metropolitan Police and their contractor, Traffic Control Systems Unit. The system now available to the net-surfing public is the same one used by the police for traffic management and by London Live for its travel news.

In order to access the images, which update every five minutes or so, users click on the required area of a London map in order to see where cameras are placed. Clicking on a chosen camera icon displays the latest image along with information such as which way the camera points. Alternatively, a Jam Cam sequence flicks through images from around the capital, which the user can then select using a ‘stop’ button.

A spokesperson for the site said that at the moment concentration will be focussed on improving the text service, but that the plan is to add more cameras to the service by the end of the year. “We would love to see this launch in other cities” she said, adding that this too was something which was being worked on.

The station, formerly GLR, was rebranded in March this year with a simultaneous online presence (see BBC Radio Announces Rebranding Of Its GLR Service). The website, which averages around 120,000 hits per week, allows users to listen to the station online and carries other webcam images including a weather cam and satellite view. The 24-hour station has been described as a tri-media service, as it is branded across TV, the internet and radio.

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