The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County is providing estimated travel times for several different routes to travel to/from Spanish Springs and the I-80/I-580 Traffic interchange (Spaghetti Bowl) in Reno. These travel times are based on live data and can advise travelers of alternative routes.

The Traction Connect App uses your anonymous location to provide traffic alerts from the RTC to your phone. Right now, travel times are being provided for a few different routes between Spanish Springs and the Spaghetti Bowl. The app provides messages similar to those provided by the overhead signs on the freeway.

The travel time can help drivers make decisions on which routes to take based on travel time estimates (based on live data). Travel times are provided for typical routes that drivers take to travel between the Spaghetti Bowl and Spanish Springs.

This app is intended to provide you general guidance on which corridors have the best travel times for your commute. For example, if you are driving from your work in Reno to your house in Spanish Springs, the app can help you decide whether to use Pyramid Highway, Sparks Boulevard, or Sun Valley Boulevard. As you travel along each route, additional route travel times may be provided. This helps you avoid long delays due to congestion, vehicle crashes, or school traffic. Since the travel times are based on live updates from vehicles traveling the corridor, the travel time alerts should help you take the fastest route.

The app will also send you alerts about nearby crashes, ongoing road construction, upcoming road construction, events, or new traffic configurations that may affect your drive. Since the updates are location specific, you will only get updates about traffic alerts that are nearby.

HOW DO I USE THE APP?

Traction Connect will use our location to provide messages as you drive around Washoe County. When you approach an area with an active message, Traction Connect will send you a notification and show the message on the screen of your cell phone.

Right now, travel time is being provided for the following routes between Spanish Springs and the Spaghetti Bowl.

• Spaghetti Bowl to Spanish Springs
• US 395 (North of Spaghetti Bowl) to Spanish Springs
• I-80 (East Spaghetti Bowl) to Spanish Springs
• I-80 (East of Pyramid Way) to Spanish Springs
• Spanish Springs to Spaghetti Bowl
• Pyramid Way (near Disc Dr.) to Spaghetti Bowl

Unlike Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze this app doesn’t give you turn by turn directions to your house or work, rather the app provides travel times estimates (based on live data) along certain corridors and routes.

Very little data of your data is being collected while using the Traction Connect App. To provide location specific traffic messaging, the Traction Connect App needs your Global Positioning System (GPS) location. The location data allows the app to share alerts that may be relevant to you at different spots throughout your drive. Trajectory data (from the GPS location data) allows the app to ensure that the correct route suggestions are provided based on your direction of travel.

This is LESS data than you typically provide Google Maps or Apple Maps.
Google Maps collects your location (and therefore your trajectory), IP address, activity on Google services (searches or places you label like home and work), and information about the things near your device (Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices), origin and destination data, and more (visit Google’s Privacy & Terms Privacy Policy webpage for additional information).

Apple Maps collects the time of your request, the device model and software you are using, your location (and therefore your trajectory), interactions with Apple Maps (including search terms and other features you use, places you view, and your interactions with notifications), origin and destination data, mode of transport, and more (visit Apple’s Legal webpage for additional information)

To provide location specific traffic messaging, the Traction Connect App needs your location. The app protects your privacy by:

• NOT collecting your name, phone number, or email address to use the app
• NOT requiring an account to use the app
• NOT using your location to estimate travel times
• NOT sharing data with third party vendors

At this time the project is testing the user demand, functionality, cost, and other factors associated with providing information to drivers through the Traction Connect App. The project is piloting this app over a small area to gather information and feedback (please fill out our survey.)

Providing travel-time between the Spaghetti Bowl and Spanish Springs is a good test for this project with upcoming construction along Pyramid Highway, and the availability of several alternate routes that drivers can and do use to get between these two locations.

The majority of the data comes from INRIX (a traffic data and analytics company). This includes the travel time estimates (based on live data) and crash alerts. The travel time estimates is based on live data communicating the speed of vehicles in the corridor and is provided to INRIX through connected vehicle technology.

The RTC and City of Sparks staff are also able to add traffic alerts to inform drivers of upcoming or nearby construction, new traffic configurations, event traffic, or other traffic alerts.

INRIX (the data provider), estimates that there may be a 1-3 minute lag in the travel time provided (between when traffic conditions change and when that is reflected in the travel time estimates). Field testing has verified that the travel time appears to be accurate. Please complete a short survey to provide feedback on how accurate you found the travel time to be.

At this time the project is testing the user demand, functionality, cost, and other factors associated with providing information to drivers through the Traction Connect App. This is referred to a “piloting” the project. Depending on overall success, user feedback, cost, and other factors, the RTC may choose to expand the limits of this project to other locations in Washoe County.

Your feedback is critical to the evaluation of this pilot project which will help the RTC make informed decisions on how to improve the overall traffic management system and traffic flow in Washoe County. Please take a few minutes to complete a brief survey to provide feedback on the App.