What is Crowdsourcing for Operations?

Crowdsourcing turns transportation system users into real-time sensors on system performance, providing low-cost, high-quality data on traffic operations, roadway conditions, travel patterns, and more.

Three common sources of crowdsourced data include social media platforms, third-party crowdsource providers, and specially developed mobile apps. Because crowdsourced data are obtained as people travel, agencies can capture in real time what happens between sensors, in rural regions, along arterials, and beyond jurisdictional boundaries. Crowdsourced data can often be accessed by traffic management centers (TMC) with minimal or no time lags, and it does not suffer from local sensor or system outages.

When combined with traditional data, crowdsourcing helps agencies implement proactive strategies that improve incident detection, traffic signal retiming, road weather management, traveler information, and other operational programs. Agencies can make roadways safer and more reliable, improve operational efficiency, and support cost-effective monitoring through crowdsourcing for operations.

Crowdsourcing can also be used to promote acceptance of public decisions, improve transparency and efficiency of public expenditures, and foster traveler satisfaction with transportation services.

Learn more about this EDC-5 Innovation.

How NJ Incorporates Crowdsourcing for Operations

Stage of Innovation: INSTITUTIONALIZED (December 2020)

New Jersey is a leader in this EDC-5 initiative, incorporating crowdsourcing data to advance operations since 2008 through the following activities:

Acquired Two Probe Data Sets. Crowdsourcing data from INRIX and HERE (via TRANSCOM partnership) is used for real-time performance management and traffic monitoring for roadway management and event after actions.

Incorporated Crowdsourcing Data Sets. TRANSCOM tools such as Data Fusion Engine (DFE) and Selected Priorities Applied to Evaluate Links (SPATEL) aggregate all available data sources for operations, analysis, and performance measures.

Piloted a Connected Vehicle Program.  The pilot study funded through a STIC Incentive Grant seeks to protect safety service patrol staff by alerting drivers in real-time of their presence at an incident site through apps such as Waze and Google.

What's Next?

Through EDC-5, New Jersey will continue to enhance their TRANSCOM systems to improve response time and clearance, while also evaluating the effectiveness of WAZE crowdsourcing data available via TRANSCOM OpenReach system to support the Traffic Operations Center and incident detection.

Probe data has proven invaluable in monitoring real-time traffic conditions along all NJ roadways and provides NJDOT with the capability to push travel times to regional dynamic messaging signs.  NJDOT Planning also uses the RITIS platform to evaluate system performance per MAP-21 standards.

Click for the Crowdsourcing for Operations Fact Sheet.

CROWDSOURCING FOR OPERATIONS: NEW & NOTEWORTHY 

WEBINAR: Traveler Information and Traffic Incident Management: Crowdsourcing Course

WEBINAR: Traveler Information and Traffic Incident Management: Crowdsourcing Course

Sal Cowan, NJDOT's Senior Director of Mobility served as one of the course instructors for a Travel Information and Incident Management webinar, one in a ...
ITS Training and Resource Hub

ITS Training and Resource Hub

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program and its partners offer trainings and resources to support workforce development and technical assistance for ...
Adventures in Crowdsourcing Webinar Series 

Adventures in Crowdsourcing Webinar Series 

The Crowdsourcing Innovation Team in collaboration with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program is offering the crowdsourcing course ...
NJDOT Wins 2022 America’s Transportation Award for Best Use of Technology and Innovation

NJDOT Wins 2022 America’s Transportation Award for Best Use of Technology and Innovation

New Jersey Department of Transportation has been recognized with a 2022 America’s Transportation Award in the category of best use of technology and innovation. ...
NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative Featured in National Operations for Excellence Webinar

NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative Featured in National Operations for Excellence Webinar

The National Operations Center for Excellence held a webinar featuring New Jersey and Colorado DOT initiatives to establish private sector partnerships that use crowdsourced data ...
National Operations Center Webinar to Feature NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative

National Operations Center Webinar to Feature NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative

The National Operations Center for Excellence will hold a webinar featuring New Jersey and Colorado DOT initiatives to establish private sector partnerships that use crowdsourced ...
Innovation Spotlight: Testing and Deploying ITS Solutions for Safer Mobility and Operations

Innovation Spotlight: Testing and Deploying ITS Solutions for Safer Mobility and Operations

We spoke with Sue Catlett from NJDOT's Transportation Mobility, Planning and Research Group to get an update on Crowdsourcing, Weather Responsive Management and Traffic Incident ...
DVRPC’s Sidewalk Inventory and Crowdsourcing Platform

DVRPC’s Sidewalk Inventory and Crowdsourcing Platform

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is seeking to understand the region’s pedestrian infrastructure through the development of an online inventory, map, and platform ...
Final Report Released for the Connected Vehicles Program Pilot Testing of Technology for Distributing Road Service Safety Messages from Safety Service Patrols

Final Report Released for the Connected Vehicles Program Pilot Testing of Technology for Distributing Road Service Safety Messages from Safety Service Patrols

NJDOT’s top priority is to improve highway safety. To support this goal, in September 2018, New Jersey began a pilot study of the effectiveness of ...
How SJTPO Refined Their Congestion Management Process with Crowdsourced Data

How SJTPO Refined Their Congestion Management Process with Crowdsourced Data

Through the Everyday Counts (EDC) program, FHWA identifies and deploys established but underutilized innovations through a state-based model, with the goals of streamlining project delivery, ...
Tech Talk! Webinar: Crowdsourcing for Local Operations

Tech Talk! Webinar: Crowdsourcing for Local Operations

The NJDOT Bureau of Research hosted a Tech Talk! Webinar, Crowdsourcing for Local Operations, that illustrated how local agencies are working, often with state partners, ...
Connected Vehicles Program Pilot Testing of Technology for Safety Service Patrol Workers Continues

Connected Vehicles Program Pilot Testing of Technology for Safety Service Patrol Workers Continues

The pilot study continues to examine the effectiveness of connected vehicle technology to alert motorists to Safety Service Patrol (SSP) workers at an incident site. ...
Making Work Zones Smarter: Data-Driven Decision Making

Making Work Zones Smarter: Data-Driven Decision Making

In honor of Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, the NJDOT Bureau of Research hosted a Lunchtime Tech Talk, “Making Work Zones Smarter: Data-Driven Decision Making” ...
New Jersey Pilots Connected Vehicles Program  to Protect Safety Service Patrol Staff

New Jersey Pilots Connected Vehicles Program to Protect Safety Service Patrol Staff

This study will examine the effectiveness of connected vehicle technology to alert motorists to Safety Service Patrol (SSP) workers at an incident site. ...