It's important so that alternatives to Google Maps and Waze (Google) can emerge.
To create congestion data, one needs to own an OS with location tracking, or be an international mobile network. Won't happen.
[disclaimer : I work on an open source alternative to big tech's maps]
So yes, for these huge actors, it's quite easy to create congestion data.
The risk of the data being invalid seems as risky as the privacy implications in this case.
Authorities could pay them for this service.
When opening the map on Firefox/Linux zooming to like a France-size view and then not doing anything, the view keeps scrolling up and down relatively slowly, but very annoyingly.
Zooming all the way out, it looks like the globe is jiggling back and forth ever so slightly, but continually.
I've recently seen this happen on another mapping application ( cannot remember which one) so it's probably in down the stack somewhere in a library you are using.
Unfortunately there was no API with data on which intersections have traffic lights and I had to build these routes manually in Strava using satellite images.
I did learn in the process that some traffic light data is actually available from the government, but only for selected partners. The Flitsmeister app for example has it and shows at some traffic lights how long it will take for the light to turn green (in a car, not on a bicycle)
Also, https://routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/ has options for different route types including an option to avoid traffic lights if a reasonable alternative is available.
https://popupcity.net/insights/rotterdam-traffic-light-prior...
According to their presentation they are working on a rust firmware to do everything on the board.
And its Tilemaker profile to generate the tiles : https://codeberg.org/cartes/serveur/src/branch/master/tilema...
The concept is that there is this protocol called ITS-G5, which is a European profile of 802.11p. Vehicles and traffic infrastructure can transmit telemetry on 5 GHz. Other vehicles and traffic infrastructure can use it for situational awareness.
This website collects that data using local receivers and aggregates it onto a map, similar to what website like ADSB-Exchange do with ADS-B.
What is concerning is that vehicles appear to broadcast a MAC address. Does this mean that ITS-G5, 802.11p, and C-ITS could be used for persistent tracking?
Somewhat related: 'Your car’s tire sensors could be used to track you': https://networks.imdea.org/your-cars-tire-sensors-could-be-u...
In Graz, the city where the authors live, there are 165 of such signals planned.
https://media.ccc.de/v/glt26-688-c-its-mit-einem-esp32-ampel...
My gut feeling is that this seems like one of those things likely to face a lot of backlash when it becomes widely known.
The only reason you would assume a site would be global is if your definition of "global" is "works in the US" & you never bother to check for support of other countries. I live in the anglosphere outside of the US & I encounter more than enough US-only web projects for that not be to a default assumption I hold.
Most sites are not global - it's very odd to assume they would be.
The authors of this project also shared that they intend on publishing more around this project. This seems to be mostly an early demo that was intended for the live event.
But I'll probably add my own receiver soon!
It's entirely reasonable to expect that a project with an extremely similar name would also work in most of the world, which just happens to include the USA.
Does Graz not have night bus service?
[1] https://www.verbundlinie.at/en/customer-service/arriving-in-...
Made me smile, I'm from outside a city we used to call "big city" when I was growing up, it had ~110K population and is the 9th largest in the country or something :P Anyways, that city still has night service, so not sure why a city with three times the population wouldn't, especially if it's a university city.
Did you know that if your car supports *Car2X* via *ITS-G5*, it transmits its exact GPS position, speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, pedal positions, length and width, and much more—all unencrypted—up to four times per second on a 5-GHz band?
Trams in Graz also transmit this data, including their line numbers. This allows us to track the trams in real time and display them on a map.
Many traffic lights in Graz now support *C-ITS* and transmit data every second regarding the exact configuration of the lanes, the current signal status, and when the next phase is expected.
With an *ESP32-C5*, we can already receive this data from a distance of several hundred meters.
We’ll show you how we collect and process this data. On a live map, you can see (within the coverage area) trams, the color of the traffic lights and when they’ll change next, and which cars equipped with Car2X are currently driving and at what speed.
Using Grafana, we display historical data on traffic light cycles and statistics, such as wait times at crosswalks and in traffic lanes. We also give you access to the collected data for your own analysis.
To improve coverage, we need your help! We’ve built a board with *ESP32-C5* and *PoE* that lets you capture *C-ITS* packets yourself and share them with us for our open map, or process them on your own.
Hug of death? Nothing loads.
