Guiding commuters through obstacles

The Eyewitness News traffic desk is using a combination of new technology and their best resource – their listeners – to guide motorists through traffic obstructions on the streets of Gauteng.

“Following another bout of heavy rain, we’re once again dealing with potholes in addition to roadworks, broken traffic lights and other potential hazards,” said EWN traffic’s Aki Anastasiou, who devised the project. “We wanted to do something to help commuters cope, so I set up an interactive Google Map which will serve as a resource for all motorists in the province.

Gathering information from listeners, the traffic desk will constantly update the map to highlight the various potholes and other obstacles posing danger to vehicles and commuters in Pretoria and Joburg.

Using Twitter @ewntraffic, Facebook http://www.facebook.com/EWNTraffic as well as information sent in via sms to 31702 and e-mails to traffic@ewn.co.za the traffic team is working around the clock to refresh their Google Map which can be found at http://bit.ly/4qPtjW. They will also relay the information to the Johannesburg Roads Agency and Tswane Roads.

Listeners can find this map and other traffic updates on www.ewn.co.za.

Previous | Image 1 of 1 | Next

Plotting potholes.