AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and Metropia today announced their second year of public-private sector collaboration with the Austin Transportation Department (ATD) to help Austinites and out-of-towners get around during South by Southwest (SXSW). Metropia, an innovative traffic app that works directly with local governments to reduce congestion, can help improve mobility during the event, which runs between March 11 and 20.
Metropia will be strategically positioned in the ATD Transportation Management Center (TMC) during SXSW to disseminate real-time information on traffic conditions to the general public via Twitter. Locals and visitors will be able to track #SXSWtraffic and #ATXtraffic to receive alerts on road closures and detours caused by unexpected incidents.
“Metropia’s goal is to work with the City of Austin to provide our users with the most up-to-date and helpful traffic information,” said Mia Zmud, vice president of ecosystem partnerships at Metropia. “This partnership helps us to maintain a bird’s eye view on Austin’s roads, and alert Metropians in real time.”
Metropia’s special operations team stationed in the TMC will monitor congestion and unexpected incidents using crowd-sourced information from social media as well as Austin Police Department and ATD traffic cameras. Metropia users will be automatically routed around those incidents and will receive push notifications about unexpected road closures and emergencies.
Suggested Twitter accounts to follow include @MetropiaATX, @AustinMobility and @AustinTexasGov. To download Metropia, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play.
About Metropia, Inc.
Metropia, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, is a GovTech 100 company whose mission is to make cities better places to live by reducing traffic congestion. The Metropia mobile platform incentivizes commuters to make better travel decisions independently and through casual carpooling with the DUO feature. The Metropia app is available for free through the Apple App Store and Google Play. To learn more, visit www.metropia.com.
About the Mobility Authority
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is a local, independent government agency created in 2002 to improve the regional transportation system in Travis and Williamson counties. The Mobility Authority implements innovative and sustainable transportation options to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in Central Texas. The Mobility Authority operates the 183A Toll Road in Williamson County and the 290 Toll Road (Manor Expressway) in east Austin. It’s preparing to start construction on the 183 South project in spring of 2016. For more information about the Mobility Authority, visit www.MobilityAuthority.com.
About the Austin Transportation Department
The Austin Transportation Department (ATD) is committed to providing the most safe, efficient, cost-effective and sustainable roadway, bikeway, walkway and transit system for the Austin community. To learn more, visit austintexas.gov/transportation.
