Traffic reporting

Traffic Cam

Traffic reportingis the nearreal-timedistribution of information aboutroadconditions such astraffic congestion,detours,andtraffic collisions.The reports help drivers anticipate and avoid traffic problems.Traffic reports,especially in cities, may also report on major delays tomass transitthat does not necessarily involve roads. In addition to periodic broadcast reports, traffic information can be transmitted to GPS units, smartphones, and personal computers.

Methods of gathering information

There are several methods in use today to gather traffic speed and incident info, ranging from professional reporters, toGPScrowdsourcing to combinations of both methods.

• INRIXuses its network of over 175 million vehicles and devices to gather speed data frommobile phones,trucks, delivery vans, and other fleet vehicles equipped with GPS locator devices including smart phones andFord SYNCandToyota Entuneand much of Europe, South America, and Africa.
• Google Trafficworks bycrowdsourcingthe GPS information from phone users. By calculating the speed of users along a stretch of road, Google is able to generate a live traffic map.Its subsidiary,Waze,also allows users to report directly via a smartphone app.
• TomTom Trafficuses crowd-sourced data from mobile phone users, along with data from traditional sources such as induction loops and traffic cameras.
• Monitoringpolice radiofrequencies. Some radio stations have agreements with states' highway patrol that permit a direct connection with a law enforcement computer. This enables real-time information gathering of the latest accident reports to highway patrol divisions.
• Many areas havehelicoptersto overfly accident scenes and other areas of high traffic volume. For example, by the companyGlobal Traffic Network.
• Traffic camera
• Giditrafficis an online social service which employscrowd sourcingas its primary means of providing real-time traffic updates to subscribers. The service is delivered free of charge.
• RoadPalusescrowd-sourceddata from mobile users as well as the social media to provide users with traffic information of places of interest to them.
• Roadsidespeed sensors,either infrared sensors for spot measurements orautomatic number plate recognitionfor measuring speed between two sites (Trafficmasterhave a network of sensors on motorways and trunk roads in the UK).

Methods of transmitting information

• GPS units (seeIntegration of traffic data with navigation systems)
• Smartphones
• Radio via voiceRDS,andTA
• Electronic road signs
• 5-1-1traffic information phone line or similar.
• Television and web

Providers

• Total Traffic & Weather Networkis the largest provider of real time broadcast traffic information in the United States. TTWN's broadcast traffic information appears on hundreds of radio and television stations as well on a multitude of automotive and gps navigation systems throughout the United States. TTWN traffic reports reach approximately 125M commuters per month. In 2011, TTWN acquired then competitor Metro Networks for $125M, about one-tenth of the company's $1B sale price to Westwood One a decade earlier. In 2006, TTWN partnered with BMW to become the first company in the United States to bring a product to the consumer market that displayed real time traffic information on an in-vehicle navigation system. TTWN's parent company is iHeart Media Networks.
• NAVTEQprovides data used in a wide range of applications, includingautomotive navigation systemsfor many car makers. Most clients use Navteq to provide traffic reports in major metropolitan areas throughout North America. NAVTEQ partners with third-party agencies and companies to provide its services for portable GPS devices made byGarmin,Lowrance,NDriveand web-based applications such asYahoo! Maps,Bing Maps,andNokia Maps.XM Satellite RadioandSirius Satellite Radiouse NAVTEQ data to show traffic information on navigation systems.

NAVTEQ's media services was spun out to form Radiate Media in 2011, which subsequently merged with Global Traffic Network in 2016, forming US Traffic Network (USTN).

• Tele Atlas,a subsidiary ofTomTom.delivers digitalmapsand other dynamic content fornavigationandlocation-based services,including personal andin-car navigationsystems, and provides data used in a wide range of mobile andInternet mapapplications.
• Google Maps uses a variety of governmental and private traffic reporting organizations to provide information, along with itsWazesubsidiary, which usescrowdsourcingto provide observed traffic conditions.