How to see traffic patterns in cities
Map the traffic of large cities in search of the traffic patterns It has practically been a utopia to pursue by Public Administrations in search of greater efficiency in their public transport. Now, from the company most hated by some and, at the same time, most loved by many users, Uber, has just launched a new tool that offers cities a perfectly detailed view of traffic patterns thanks to its immense database. We talk about Uber Movement, which aims to improve the rules of urban planning from the perspective of transport.
What does Uber Movement do?
If we simplify how Uber Movement works a bit, as the company's drivers move around town they are constantly collecting data and information. Data that comes from the function of the GPS record what is produced with the millions of trips that are made daily by drivers (Estimates of 2 million trips). For example, each of these trips provides valuable data on transport and traffic flow showing travel times, both for a total distance and for short distances and in which areas there is a greater traffic or demand for vehicles and vice versa. , among many other data that can be analyzed through techniques and examples of Big Data application on urban spaces. At this point, the company has already claimed that users' privacy is guaranteed.
The image above will be the perspective of how the data will be handled on the Uber Movement portal. All this amount of information actually represents significant savings compared to urban planners and administrations who need to collect information and carry out studies that require time and a high cost in the realization of the reports to be able to practice coherent planning against a more useful public transport , effective, with solutions and improvements to traffic jams and sustainable. Of interest to see also the article of the DOT standard for Transportation Oriented Development, a tool that helps to evaluate the form and urban development against the movements of public transport.
Currently the company is present in more than 450 cities around the world, being the first cities analyzed and mapped; Boston, Manila, Washington DC and Sidney. Although now the data will be offered from the platform only for public organizations and administrations, the intention of the company in the coming months is that it be open to the general public even with an API to be able to work with the large amount of information that will be handled.
After the last legal battles, some experts affirm that it is more a strategy of a "friendly" approach to the most reluctant administrations with the intention of being able to exchange services to be able to operate in those cities that refuse to implement Uber on their streets.
It should be noted that even if we forget it, there are other voluntary and “non-profit” APP transit systems, such as Waze, which have been praised for the way they publicly share data with their live maps. the ability to try to improve urban planning in the face of traffic jams, avoid road closures or, for example, open new roads of interest to citizens.
If we do some more research and move on to a recent MIT study, it shows that traffic is not just a nuisance for drivers, it is also a danger to public health and bad news for the economy and the environment.
The report suggests that one of the best ways to improve city traffic is through ride sharing among users, reducing vehicles on the road by a factor of 3 without significantly affecting travel time. According to the algorithm that was developed, only 3,000 vehicles occupied by 4 people could meet 98% of the demand for taxis in New York City.
According to researcher Rus … “Instead of transporting people in one go, drivers can transport 2 to 4 people at a time, which results in fewer trips, in less time, for the same amount of money. A system like this could make drivers work shorter shifts, while also creating less traffic, cleaner air with shorter and less stressful communications. "
Actually, it is not a question of whether we occupy a car with more or fewer passengers, the inflection point is that in the end we would all be willing to take the bus, the train, etc. In short, public transport, if our cities were designed and planned to meet the needs of the inhabitants with logical, useful and efficient transport networks.
Of interest and in the same vein is the article on how to see the expansion and growth of cities over time with the new function of the Google Timelapse Earth viewer.
If you liked this article, share it!
