Caltrans has announced a new, free data-sharing partnership with Waze, the navigation app powered by drivers, in which each will share data to provide the public with better traffic and road information.
“Combining the real-time anonymous data from Waze, sourced from drivers themselves, with Caltrans’ vast network of traffic management systems is a win-win for California drivers,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.
Under this agreement, Waze will share with Caltrans the free, anonymous traffic and incident report data from Waze users (called Wazers). This data will provide real-time travel information on California’s roadways provided by Caltrans’ QuickMap. Waze, in turn, will receive Caltrans’ road condition reporting data, construction and road closure information to share with its users. Together, both will have more data and be better able to provide a thorough overview of road conditions, giving drivers more power to plan their commutes and trips.
According to Waze, Los Angeles has more than 1.7 million active users per month, contributing more than 2.5 million alerts such as potholes and accidents per month. In San Francisco, more than 678,000 monthly users contribute nearly 970,000 alerts per month. Waze’s Connected Citizens Program is dedicated to empowering and enabling drivers by connecting them, and partnerships such as those with Caltrans only further connect Californians through this data exchange.
“Waze is only as strong as the information it receives from its users,” said Paige Fitzgerald, connected citizens program manager at Waze. “The Connected Citizens Program is a natural evolution for Waze as we already enable and empower drivers and are now bringing entire cities that same level of connectivity. The immense data Caltrans can contribute to the Waze app makes them a valued partner moving forward.”
