--- title: Cities and infrastructure date: 2026-06-10T01:20:00+10:00 author: Portable canonical_url: "https://portable.com.au/work/impact-areas/cities-and-infrastructure" section: Impact areas --- ![Metro trains in Melbourne](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/74678/dean-bennett-gNfC8oeZAQk-unsplash_385ba22d576e4c13723fa16e6bd5fb2d.jpg) Portable has spent more than a decade working with the operators and councils that keep cities running: trams, land information systems, and the local services people use every day. We start with the people who rely on that infrastructure, then work with the teams who run it to build something more efficient, more reliable, and easier to use. That's what's behind the real-time data foundation now running through Melbourne's tram network and the community-first website redesign that Banyule Council uses today. ![Monitoring tram and route uptime](https://portable.com.au/assets/images/a20d65f0-3ae9-4a66-a291-1770e472ac04_MAPRA-Interface.gif) ### The Smarter Trams Program: laying the foundations for an intelligent transport system. This program gives Melbourne's tram passengers, more than 200 million trips a year, more accurate real-time crowding and arrival information, so people can plan their journey with confidence instead of guessing. For Yarra Trams and the Department of Transport and Planning, it created a live data foundation that can prioritise traffic lights for delayed trams and pinpoint exactly where and when the network gets congested. [Read more about the project](https://portable.com.au/work/case-studies/yarra-trams-smarter-trams) ### Keeping community at the centre of a website redesign. The redesign gives residents across Banyule's 21 suburbs a website built around what they actually came looking for, validated by testing the new structure with 186 residents, rather than one organised around council's internal departments. For Council staff, it came with a content strategy that keeps guiding decisions long after the redesign itself was finished. [Read more about the project](https://portable.com.au/work/case-studies/banyule-council-website-redesign) ![Keeping community at the centre of a website redesign.](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/caseStudy/banyule-council-website-redesign/8346/XkR9EhQAACgAsJKd_9f897b1382d56b7dbd210a479f72ecc7.jpg) ![Using predictive analytics to efficiently support Melbourne's tram network.](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/caseStudy/predictive-analytics/11665/YnCvVRIAALsZM6sh_9f897b1382d56b7dbd210a479f72ecc7.jpg) ### Using predictive analytics to efficiently support Melbourne's tram network. This tool automates the analysis of more than 2,000 delayed or cancelled tram trips a month, reaching 80% accuracy within its first three months, so Yarra Trams' Operations Centre staff spend less time on manual data work and more time acting on what the data shows. It also surfaced disruptions that staff would otherwise have missed entirely. [Read more about the project](https://portable.com.au/work/case-studies/predictive-analytics) ## Systems that work for the people that need them - ### [Geospatial design](https://portable.com.au/articles/geovisualisation-for-geospatial-innovation) By converting complex datasets into interactive visual representations, geovisualisation enables policymakers, researchers, and the public to better understand environmental impact. Read more - ### [Digital twins](https://portable.com.au/articles/digital-twins-technology-and-geospatial-insight) Discover how digital twins are helping public and private sector leaders make smarter, faster decisions with real-time data and spatial insight. Read more - ### [Metrofitting](https://portable.com.au/articles/how-metrofitting-can-repair-cities-and-lifestyles) The real infrastructure debate: how metrofitting can repair cities and lifestyles Read more - ### [Wayfinding in Australia](https://portable.com.au/reports/wayfinding-in-australia) Evaluating the current state of public transport and how we can improve the wayfinding experience. Read more ## Our work in this area [All cities and infrastructure case studies](https://portable.staging.ptest.tv/work/case-studies?impactAreas=cities-and-infrastructure) - ![](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/article/strategic-aws-architecture/32739/aieSDweQX7-eW_Xh_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.jpg)### [AWS can be more than cheaper infrastructure](https://portable.com.au/articles/strategic-aws-architecture) - ![Unlocking the potential of AI in statutory planning for Victorian councils](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/caseStudy/mavlabs-ai-in-statutory-planning-for-councils/10682/aHnmkkMqNJQqIFnv_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.jpg)### [Unlocking the potential of AI in statutory planning for Victorian councils](https://portable.com.au/work/case-studies/mavlabs-ai-in-statutory-planning-for-councils) - ![Portable Report: Customising GenAI, What You Need to Know](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/report/generative-ai-report/30338/ZvO1I7VsGrYSv60X_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.png)### [Portable Report: Customising GenAI, What You Need to Know](https://portable.com.au/reports/generative-ai-report) - ![Visib-ill-ity](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/event/visib-ill-ity/22618/ZdgzWzpgV5jBjCQJ_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.png)### [Visib-ill-ity: Progress and hope for women living with chronic illness](https://portable.com.au/events/visib-ill-ity) - ![How one cultural institution planned for scale without rebuilding from scratch](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/article/scaling-public-sector-software/3836/aR_ngWGnmrmGqGfI_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.jpg)### [How one cultural institution planned for scale without rebuilding from scratch](https://portable.com.au/articles/scaling-public-sector-software) - ![](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/caseStudy/case-study-yarra-trams-support-and-enhancements/8665/Zy16cq8jQArT0jUB_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.jpg)### [Keeping Victoria’s public transport on track: Supporting Yarra Trams since 2013](https://portable.com.au/work/case-studies/case-study-yarra-trams-support-and-enhancements) - ![Scaling Impact report](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/report/scaling-impact/30440/ZmpXf5m069VX1stA_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.png)### [Scaling Impact Report](https://portable.com.au/reports/scaling-impact) - ![Innovate to Navigate](https://portable.com.au/assets/_transforms/images/event/innovate-to-navigate/22366/ZTkWGxEAACkA2Rnk_638b64f2391dff6e364e5709b4734889.png)### [Innovate to Navigate](https://portable.com.au/events/innovate-to-navigate) ### Create impact with us Collaboration is at the heart of all that Portable does. Let us know what you're working on and how you envision us partnering.