large data visualization applied to transport

Hi all,

I would like to have your feedback about an idea for a possible case
study for a project that we have just started thinking of (this is the
early stage of project proposal-making).

The project is about reasearch in the area of visual analytics, i.e.
visualization of large scale datasets (from terabyte up). At this
point we have identified a few use cases -- applications where
appropriate visualization of big data makes the difference (and it is
difficult to achieve).

My Big question is: does it make sense to think of a use case in the
area of transport? (I am being general here: any type of
transportation means in any combination, over any distance, or
timeline).

Implied questions:

- Is there big data about traffic, transports and the like available?
My feeling is that if such data is available, good
processing/visualization could help understing traffic fluxes, and
improve optimization.

- is somebody working on this or related issues already? transport
companies, reasearch institutes, ... ?

I hope I described the situation clearly, if you have question please
just ask. Many thanks in advance!

Best
Caterina