Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced a new, free innovative data sharing partnership with Waze to help alleviate congestion in San Francisco, working in coordination with the Mayor’s Rush Hour Congestion Strategy. Through the Waze Connected Citizens Program, the City will publish data from across City departments that Waze can use – including information about road closures, construction, film shootings and special events, so drivers can find the best route to their destination, avoid blocked streets and decrease congestion when moving around San Francisco.

“San Francisco is growing in both jobs and population, and demand on our City streets has never been greater,” said Mayor Lee. “While we always encourage public transportation, whenever possible, we are also using new technology to help residents and visitors navigate our streets safely and avoid congestion. This collaboration reflects our City’s commitment to open data and innovative partnerships to improve the quality of life for all of our residents, including helping them move around our City in the most efficient way possible.”

“We are thrilled to start our relationship with the City of San Francisco by supporting their efforts to host world class Super Bowl events,” said Waze Connected Citizens Program Manager Paige Fitzgerald. “The Waze map evolves with every driver and data point it receives. This not only benefits the Waze community long-term, but it also serves all Bay-area drivers immediately as they lean on the Waze platform to outsmart traffic.”

Through the Mayor’s Rush Hour Congestion Strategy, the City remains committed to its long-term strategy to reduce both daily and “non-recurring” traffic congestion by making transit, bicycling, and walking a better alternative for more trips; deployment of parking control officers to a targeted corridor each weekday based on data from Muni vehicles and enforcement teams; managing demand for private auto trips through policies, planning, design, incentives and information; and achieving Vision Zero – the City’s goal to reduce traffic fatalities by 2024 – to make the streets safer for all users and reduce delays caused by accidents.

The Waze app is used by nearly 700,000 monthly active users in San Francisco who navigate to destinations via fast and safe routes, avoid traffic, and report nearly a million alerts per month to help inform other drivers of conditions ahead. Waze will provide the City of San Francisco with free, anonymous data from the app, including user-generated reports and real-time incident and congestion data, in a form that ensures no personally identifiable information is shared. This new data stream can be aggregated, analyzed and eventually used to evaluate the City’s traffic management for events and road closures, assess the deployment of parking control officers (PCO), and further refine traffic strategies for the most congested areas.

“The Waze collaboration gives our government agencies an unprecedented look at real-time road activity, empowering decisions that achieve concrete community impact,” said San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin. “This information supports our ability to understand traffic trends and measure impacts of key strategies such as PCO monitoring of blocked intersections. It’s also an opportunity to share data we have to better inform the public. The use of smart technology partnerships helps make it easier to get around the City using sustainable forms of transportation and support the City’s longstanding Transit First policy.”

Mayor Lee and Waze reminds drivers to use the app in a safe and responsible manner, by docking the phone and leveraging hands-free functionality during their entire route.

For the latest transportation details on auto traffic detours and Muni re-routes, and for more information, go to: the City’s Super Bowl 50 page or call 311.

About Waze
Waze is the social navigation pioneer, leveraging mobile technology and a passionate global community to redefine expectations of today’s maps. Waze is home to the world’s largest network of drivers who work together daily to outsmart traffic and save time and money. The app consistently recommends the fastest routes based on real-time driving and data from millions of users. From traffic reroutes to low gas price alerts and relevant offers from favorite brands, Waze is one of the most comprehensive driving companions in the marketplace. To download the free Waze app for iOS or Android, go to: www.waze.com.