There was a frightening message waiting for many Angelenos last Friday as they fired up Waze for their evening commute. Two freeways were closed—one covered in a mudslide—and for many, the app warned of drive times that were doubled or more. The entire city of LA simultaneously canceled its dinner plans.
A group of my friends were trying to meet in the San Fernando Valley at this very moment, so I fired up the Google Transit app for a little thought experiment. Commuting from downtown LA to the Valley in a timely manner was pretty much impossible until they reopened the 101 Freeway—Waze said it would be an hour on an alternate route. But the Red Line subway traveled directly underneath the closure, delivering someone to the Valley in just 18 minutes. For someone who uses it regularly, considering transit is given, but despite having the second-largest system in the country and a very visible branding campaign, Angelenos sometimes need a reminder that transit is even an option: One friend who checked Waze had already resigned herself to the drive until I showed her my math, and she went underground instead.
This is kind of an extreme case. But it shows you how much Angelenos—at least 1.3 million of them, according to Waze—not only rely on this app but trust it to tell them exactly what to do. A redesign out today makes Waze even more powerful. But it also points to a simple way that Waze could actually help improve transportation for cities.
Waze should be telling people when they can save time or avoid a particularly awful commute by getting out of the car.
Read the rest of the story here.
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