Skip to main content

Boston partners with traffic app Waze on traffic management

Boston, US, has formed a new data-sharing partnership with Google-owned traffic app Waze, to enable the city’s drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to check real time traffic conditions on Boston’s streets. The partnership aims to help improve traffic flow in Boston in two principal ways. As part of the partnership, the City will share information on expected road closures with the 400,000 users of Waze in Greater Boston, helping them find the best way to get around town. In addition, aggregated information o
February 17, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSBoston, US, has formed a new data-sharing partnership with Google-owned traffic app Waze, to enable the city’s drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to check real time traffic conditions on Boston’s streets. The partnership aims to help improve traffic flow in Boston in two principal ways.

As part of the partnership, the City will share information on expected road closures with the 400,000 users of 6897 Waze in Greater Boston, helping them find the best way to get around town.  In addition, aggregated information on traffic reported by Waze users will be shared with the city's traffic management centre (TMC), which adjusts the 550 signalised intersections across the city to improve traffic flow.

Data from Waze is already being used to augment information available from hundreds of intersection cameras citywide and inform traffic signal timing decisions by the TMC.

"Over the past few weeks, it has become clear how critical it is to find innovative ways to improve traffic flow in the City of Boston," said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "I thank 1691 Google for their partnership in providing us with another way to use data to better improve how City government works."  

“This partnership will help engineers in the TMC respond to traffic jams, accidents and road hazards quicker”, said Boston Transportation Department commissioner Gina Fiandaca.  “And, looking forward, the Waze data will support us in implementing - and measuring the results of - new congestion management strategies.”

The city is also looking at several different solutions to traffic management, such as working with the 5200 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to evaluate traffic signal prioritisation and its effectiveness along key MBTA routes. Data received from Waze users allows the city to measure the impact on traffic speeds when MBTA vehicles are given priority at traffic signals.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volvo addresses blind-side turns
    May 18, 2012
    Volvo has developed a system that aims at solving the problem of the truck driver's blind spot on the passenger side and the results of the research were demonstrated yesterday in the Intersafe 2 EU project in Wolfsburg, Germany. In Europe, between 30 and 60 per cent of all accidents resulting in injuries occur at intersections. Intersafe 2, an EU-funded project, aims at developing and demonstrating a Cooperative Intersection Safety System (CISS) that is able to improve traffic safety at road junctions by a
  • Decision to suspend bus lanes “flawed and data deficient”
    March 14, 2014
    According to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) the decision by Liverpool’s Mayor and council to suspend all of the city’s bus lanes in a nine month trial was rushed through and based on evidence that was flawed and suffered from a severe data deficit. Furthermore, it could even deter other local authorities around Britain from introducing measures that promote public transport to ease urban traffic congestion. The Institute believes that the evidence used by the Mayor and Coun
  • Maturing photo enforcement gains legal status, public support
    August 2, 2012
    In the US, affirmation of the photo traffic enforcement sector's legal status and rising public support were significant aspects of 2009. James Tuton, President and CEO of American Traffic Solutions, looks back over the year. In 2009, the photo traffic enforcement industry in North America continued to grow and mature, accompanied by increased public, legislative and legal scrutiny. While public support remains strong, we also saw increased attempts to undermine the industry by representatives of a small bu
  • Hikvision maximises safety with smart video technology
    September 12, 2022
    Around the world, thousands of people are injured or killed in road traffic accidents every day. To maximise safety for motorists and other road users, cities and highways authorities are implementing smart video solutions that alert emergency teams when an accident occurs in real time – supporting faster responses and potentially saving lives, says Juan Sádaba, ITS business development manager at Hikvision Spain