Traffic Map, a new user-generated online map of Joburg‘s roads, has ambitions to change the way the city‘s residents commute. Using information gathered from social networks to chart an unprecedented, real-time overview of traffic incidents throughout the city and surrounds.
Traffic Map uses Google Maps software to identify the best routes for increasingly frustrated commuters, collating information sourced from some of the city‘s primary traffic monitors, such as PigSpotter, YFM Traffic and Traffic SA. Incidents reported by these sources via Twitter are identified, located and plotted on the map interface, providing users with a dynamic bird‘s-eye view of the streets in and around the city.
“œSocial networks are a mine of real-time information, which can be of exceptional benefit provided that it‘s presented in a legible, digestible format,“ says Gary Meyer, co-owner of Slash301. “œOur aim with Traffic Map was to make this information as tangible and relevant as possible, and to provide a one-stop solution for users looking to ease the hassle and frustration of their daily commute.“
