“Gertrude will control the Lisbon crossing”, “Gertrude manda na Baixa”, “Gertrude promises to eliminate engarrafamentos na Baixa”. News of Gertrude’s arrival in Lisbon made as much headlines in the Portuguese press as Gertrude’s departure to Bordeaux. Chalana (1).
“Gertrude will control the Lisbon crossing”, “Gertrude manda na Baixa”, “Gertrude promises to eliminate engarrafamentos na Baixa”. News of Gertrude’s arrival in Lisbon made as much headlines in the Portuguese press as Gertrude’s departure to Bordeaux. Chalana (1).
So Gertrude made her first breakthrough abroad. Until then, Gertrude was merely a technological gift given to the people of Bordeaux by an accomplished engineer from the urban community, Christian Francis.
The originality of the real-time traffic regulation system has raised some curiosity here and there. At the international conference in Vienna (Austria), its presentation presented by the French Ministry of Transport attracted everyone (2).
Weight of imp Aquitaine
“It was from Vienna that the idea of creating a mixed economy company came to us,” he says. Its director is Christian Francis– The lack of a commercial structure in the urban community.
However, CUB retains a majority stake in Gertrude SAEM (51%). The rest is distributed (in descending order) between Elf-Aquitaine, the Bordeaux Savings Bank, the City of Bordeaux, the City of Mérignac, the Chamber of Commerce, CITRAM, CGFTE (Bordeaux Buses), the Automobile Club du Sud-Ouest, the Road Transport Association of Aquitaine and Expanso.
“This will be our Christmas present.”
Elf-Aquitaine’s international reputation is one of this team’s best assets. Through this, the people of Lisbon learned of Gertrude’s existence. A blessing for this capital whose heart – the Baixa region – suffers from inexorable traffic jams, the most dramatic in Europe. It is this area, through which 60,000 people pass per hour, that Gertrude will attack. “It will be our Christmas present,” says the Portuguese, who signed a six-year contract for 15,215,000 francs and US$80,000.
Christian Franciere at Gertrude’s computer in Bordeaux, in the 1980s.
Southwest Archives / Michel Lacroix
Deriomacau
Gertrude now had global ambitions. Gertrude Portugal, which is under construction, will explore in Angola, Brazil, Macau and Mozambique.
In turn, the mayor of Madrid, then the mayor of Barcelona, announced his interest. Negotiations will resume with Colombia, the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
Only in France are people so selective. Paris came to Bordeaux several times to fully understand how it worked. Its engineers tried to copy the system. Its implementation was not very successful and capital had to be returned to the simple programming system (3).
Toulouse preferred the British simple programming system, but still could not solve the traffic jams. In short, Gertrude is actually better known abroad than here. It’s very French.
(1) Fernando Challana, former Portuguese international, died at the age of 63, on August 10, 2022.
(2) Tests were carried out in Bordeaux, which showed that the savings in time were 50%, in energy consumption by 35%, and in carbon dioxide pollution by 70%.
(3) The computer regulates traffic based on pre-determined programs, while Gertrude does so based on real-time data provided by the traffic situation.
Cars…on request
Gertrude: Electronic management to regulate urban traffic with great precision challenges traffic jams. Of this very sophisticated system established by the urban community of Bordeaux in 1976, we will remember above all that it allows only the number of vehicles that its roads can support to enter the city. It also allows encouraging the movement of certain bus lines, giving the green light to firefighters in some crowded arteries, reducing the level of air pollution, and reducing fuel consumption. Southwest tested the system in 1976. On an eleven-kilometre urban route, Gertrude saved thirty minutes.
