Make the data-driven case for effective transport investment
ATFutures integrates the traffic counts, collisions and infrastructure you already hold into one model of the network, so investment decisions rest on evidence rather than assertion.
See how it works Book a walkthrough
ATFutures is short for Active Travel Futures. Spin-out in formation from active travel research at the University of Leeds. Our tools are already used by regional and national government.
The problem
England has committed £4.555 billion to active travel over 2025/26 to 2029/30. Globally, 1.19 million people died in road traffic crashes in 2021, more than half of them pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
The money is real and the stakes are high. The evidence base underneath it usually is not. Count data arrives in dozens of formats, collision data sits somewhere else again, and the network each dataset refers to rarely matches the network the scheme will be built on.
The result is familiar to anyone who has tried it: schemes appraised on partial evidence, comparisons that cannot be made, and investment that cannot be defended when it is challenged.
What people actually need
- One view of the network, with counts, collisions and infrastructure joined up
- Flow estimates on links where no counter exists
- Potential demand for walking and cycling, modelled rather than assumed
- Risk expressed per billion kilometres travelled, comparable across sites
- Benefit to cost ratios for a package of schemes, not one at a time
What we do
Integrate
A data pipeline that ingests local authority counters, national counts, open sensor networks, collision records, OpenStreetMap and Ordnance Survey data, plus whatever a client already holds, into one schema.
Model
Network integration and preprocessing, multi-modal traffic estimation, potential demand and route assignment, scenario modelling and forecasting. Models are validated on held-out data, not just fitted.
Decide
A web application that shows baseline conditions, modelled potential, gaps in provision and the results of scenarios, with benefit to cost ratios for investment packages.
The engine we have built to join disparate route network datasets runs about 100 times faster than established network matching techniques, which is what makes integrated analysis affordable at regional scale.
Counterflow, our data platform
Counterflow seamlessly integrates your disparate traffic count, collision and infrastructure datasets, unlocking true data-driven transport planning.
Counterflow is not a network editor. It is a data product: it takes what you have, makes it comparable, fills the gaps with modelled estimates, and reports the numbers a business case needs.
Already live
- Counterflow dashboard, multi-region counter and AADT explorer
- Critical Safety Issues, screening against Active Travel England criteria
- Oxfordshire counters, 832 automatic and citizen-science counters
Some demos are password protected while they are in client use. Ask us for access.
Track record
Who we work with
- UK local and regional government, from day one
- Sub-national transport bodies and combined authorities
- Active travel charities, campaigns and consultancies
- National government: Active Travel England, the Department for Transport, National Highways
- EU city, local and regional government and agencies
- National governments and international bodies, including the World Health Organization
How we differ
Most planning platforms are built to represent the data you already have, and to let you edit the network. We are built to add value to your data: joining networks that do not match, estimating flows where you have no counters, and quantifying risk in a way that survives scrutiny.
Open foundations
OpenStreetMap, DuckDB, PostGIS-grade tooling and published research, rather than a proprietary data model that locks you in.
Data integration as the product
The hard part is the join between datasets, and that is what we have spent a decade building and testing.
Modelling that is validated
Held-out validation, published methods and honest confidence intervals, because a number nobody can defend is not a number.
Book a walkthrough
Tell us what you are trying to decide and which data you already hold. We will show you the platform on your own area of interest, or on one of the regions already loaded.
For commercial enquiries about the prototype plan, the planning page sets out scope and costed options.