Crowdsourced social mobile traffic app Waze‘s partnership with KABC-TV hit the wires this morning (press release below / Techmeme link).
Here’s the story and video from ABC7. WSJ, NYT, Reuters, and Fast Company are already on it. Video and press assets can be found here. Some other goodies:
* Carmageddon promo
* Carmageddon Resistance
Let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like to get in touch with anyone at Waze!
Waze’s Citizen Traffic Connects Broadcast Media with Drivers on the Road
KABC-TV begins using real-time crowdsourced traffic data as content direct from its audience on the road
(LOS ANGELES & PALO ALTO, Calif.) July 5, 2011 — Waze, the mobile social traffic and navigation app, is announcing today a partnership with KABC-TV in Los Angeles, Southern California’s most watched-television station. Waze is empowering the station to connect with its community of local drivers on the road for instant access to real-time traffic information and breaking news where it otherwise may not have reporters on the scene. Using Waze’s live map of users on the road, the station will be able to provide Los Angeles citizens up-to-the-minute road reports during the July 15th weekend closure of the 405 freeway based on live feedback, incidents, and updates from Waze’s community of Los Angeles drivers. The closing 10 mile stretch is used by roughly 500,000 Los Angeles drivers on any given weekend. The “carmageddon”, as locals have dubbed it, is part of a $1bn highway improvement campaign that isn’t expected to be finished until 2013.
“There’s no question the upcoming closure of the 405 Freeway is going to seriously impact drivers in Southern California,” said Cheryl Fair, vice president and news director for KABC-TV. “We have a responsibility to our viewers to provide real-time information, and Waze plays a big part in helping us do that. Not only can the Waze app help drivers find alternate routes, but what’s really exciting to us is how it enables our viewers to play an active part in easing the traffic congestion. While viewers use the app to get where they need to go, they’re simultaneously providing information to help their fellow drivers.”
Broadcast Media Warpath
Waze’s citizen traffic is being adopted by broadcast media around the globe, most notably in use by Channel 2, Israel’s largest news network where drivers volunteer to be called in by the station to report on live-traffic information from the ground. Stateside, Waze has also working with WBHH-TV in Southwest Florida, which has supplemented its traditional traffic feed with Waze’s citizen traffic from commuters on the road. However, this most recent partnership with KABC-TV marks the company’s first large scale media distribution in the U.S.
Milestones
The partnership coincides with Waze’s recent milestone of 4.5 million drivers in its community. The company’s growth rate is accelerating rapidly, more than doubling its active user base since its last announcement of 2 million drivers and $25MM in B-round funding last December. Waze also officially launched its service in Spain and the U.K last month, increasing its global reach and support to drivers in Western Europe.
“The use of crowdsourced traffic by major media is a huge validation of our community-based infrastructure,” said Noam Bardin, CEO of Waze. “Consumers embrace sharing information where it’s relevant and where they see real value in return. We’re happy to see that real-time traffic information is an offer they can’t refuse.”
Founded in 2009, Waze has since grown to become the world’s largest and fastest-growing community of connected drivers, reaching more than 4.5 million users in over 45 countries, worldwide. Waze is available on the Apple AppStore, the Android Market Place, the Nokia Ovi Store, RIM’s App World and Windows Market or download from m.Waze.com. To learn more about Waze online, visit www.Waze.com or follow us on Twitter at @Waze.
About Waze
Waze is a free community-based traffic and navigation app that uses real-time road reports from drivers nearby to save commuting time and improve everyday driving. Way more than just another free navigation app, Waze’s social layer is what sets it apart – giving drivers the power to work together to report and receive the most relevant traffic information available at any given moment. Plus, it actually makes commuting a whole lotta fun!
About KABC-TV
KABC-TV is the #1 rated television station in the Los Angeles area and the home of ABC7 Eyewitness News, the most watched local news coverage in LA with over 45 hours of live local news each week. KABC-TV is also the west coast flagship of the ABC television network.
