Twitter community feeds real-time traffic app for smartphones

Sharon

Sharon Gill

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12th August 2009

TrafficTweet relies on a public Twitter feed populated with real-time traffic data from the Twitter community.

TrafficTweet leverages the iPhone 3.0 OS Maps API to directly embed Google Maps into the application, providing a quick snapshot of all traffic alerts on nearby highways and roads.

It uses the Twitter Platform to enable drivers to report current road conditions (traffic accidents, lane closures, speed traps and other alerts) to others via Twitter on an interactive map. App users can use colour-coded icons to provide the driver with instant feedback.

One-click driver reporting eliminates need for texting, as it takes just one click to report speed and two clicks to report a traffic incident.

The embedded search function enables users to quickly search for traffic conditions anywhere in the world.

"Time after time existing traffic reporting services show a highway to be all clear, yet drivers hop on the highway to find it completely jammed because the data is delayed," said Mobomo's founder, Barg Upender. "TrafficTweet makes it dead simple for iPhone users to tweet and search for local traffic conditions in real time – bringing the days of unexpected and unpleasant surprises on the road to an end."

Unlike existing smartphone traffic apps that rely on collecting proprietary data and require driver-generated information to roll-out service in each market, TrafficTweet employs a community approach via the public Twitter feed so that drivers are not limited to data for road conditions on major arteries in major cities. And while other Traffic apps track drivers' whereabouts at all times once the user agrees to terms & conditions, TrafficTweet users choose when and where they want to report their location and road conditions.

Upender adds that TrafficTweet is a way for drivers to "let off some steam" about driving conditions in an easy, safe and productive way that allows other drivers to benefit from real-time updates.