Quality Assessment of Social Media Traffic Reports - A Field Study in Austin, Texas

Abstract

Social media platforms can be a powerful tool for engaging and communicating with the public, and their proliferation in recent years have influenced the sharing of traffic-related news, particularly of breaking coverage of major traffic events to the public-at-large. Many transportation agencies assign public information officers to facilitate real-time traffic information dissemination through a number of channels including social media. Further, social media platforms also allow motorists and local news reporters to post and traffic reports they observe or share in real time. The recipients often consider these crowd-sourced traffic reports as one of their primary sources of real-time traffic information. Despite the emerging trend associated with using social media as a significant source of traffic information, a systematic assessment of the quality and reliability of social media traffic report has not previously been conducted. The City of Austin Department of Transportation and Metropia Inc. collaborated in a 40-day field study that utilized the City of Austin Department of Transportation's field camera to verify traffic incidents that were posted through social media channels and document the percent of reported events that were valid as well as various characteristics of social traffic reports. The verified incident reports were assessed for quality and accuracy. The study reveals a number of insightful findings that, for the first time, will help the transportation agency and the public better understand the strengths and weaknesses of traffic reports posted through social media channels.