Get traffic news on your smart phone

April 8, 2013

Get traffic news on your smart phone

Subhendu Ray, Hindustan Times New Delhi, April 07, 2013

First Published: 00:16 IST(7/4/2013) | Last Updated: 01:43 IST(7/4/2013)

Real time updates on the traffic situation of the city will soon be at the fingertips of smart phone users.

Delhi Traffic Police, after the major success of its SMS updates informing about the congestion on roads, has now decided to come up with a smart phone software on the lines of those used in cities of the US and the UK.

The traffic police, which also provides updates to the residents through its Facebook and Twitter accounts, will introduce the software in an attempt to what it believes is keeping pace with changing times in a smart way.“We are soon going to introduce a software-based mobile application to give real time traffic related information to the road users,” said Sudhir Yadav, special commissioner of police (traffic).

According to traffic police officers, the new system is expected to be up and running within two to three months. Initially, the smart phone application will provide information on distance between two locations, diversions, jam on roads due to breakdown of vehicles or rallies, traffic advisories, parking facilities, available mode of transport and estimated travel time.

However, officers said, they would later on update the application with other new features such as public transport fare for a particular distance travelled.“The offline application would also have an interactive map for the convenience of the traffic,” a police officer claimed.

Sources said the said application would be available in Iphone, BlackBerry, Android and all Windows-based phones. Once this app is installed, users would be able to access traffic reports of particular areas and know about roads in their neighbourhood, workplace or to any part of the city that they are visiting.

Traffic cops believe that with the introduction of the application, not only the regular city commuters but also those who visit the city from outside.The traffic police had discontinued their popular SMS service a few months ago reportedly due to a revision in the TRAI tariff structure.

http://www.hindustantimes.com