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When did Waze first become USEFUL?

Post by zzyzxuk
Hello fellow Wazers!

I think that one thing most of us "early-adopters" have in common is that we understand how cool the concept of crowdsourced traffic and map building is, and many of us have put in a lot (ok, actually a LOT!) of time helping to turn Waze's vision into a reality. And now, just in my area, the map in the UK has gone from almost no roads at all, to a very respectable skeleton from which further roads can now easily grow, and the number of users I see on the screen each evening has gone from only a few, to well in the 30's.

If we keep the buzz going, we will eventually hit critical mass, and this thing is really going to take off.

What I'm curious about is - what are the milestones by which we can measure our progress, and how many of you have hit them....

So could you respond if you can answer "yes" to these questions?

- When did you first notice another Wazer on YOUR stretch of road?
- When did you first get a traffic report for a stretch of road you were planning on travelling down?
- Have you actually ever been re-routed because of a traffic report someone else generated?
- Have you actually tried to use Waze to route you somewhere other than your normal commute, and have it work?


I'm not doubting these days will come soon - they just haven't quite come for me, and I'd like to get excited that all the work I'm putting in will soon be rewarded, and get excited by the potential that I think this project has, so hearing from fellow Wazers would be really encouraging!

zzyzxuk
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Post by zzyzxuk
OK - last night, for the first time, I got told that my journey would be longer due to reported traffic.

What it didn't do however is give me any clue about where that traffic was....

Because we only have a small percentage of London roads mapped at the moment, if I'd known where it was, I might have been able to calculate my own "reroute" around it. (I don't think Waze knows the roads well enough just yet to trust that there really wasn't a way around it.)

So a suggestion: If there -is- traffic ahead, could it show you where it is?

Second suggestion, which isn't a software thing... Someone put out an alert last night for "Event On". But I couldn't see where they were. I -guessed- that it might have been the footie, so when choosing a route, I avoided the football ground by a wide berth, but now I'm kind of curious which event it was, and if I made the right choice. :)
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Post by zzyzxuk
sketch wrote: I've seen "your route will be 8 minutes longer due to new traffic information"
VERY cool!!!
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Post by TravUK

- When did you first notice another Wazer on YOUR stretch of road?
Just this past week.

- When did you first get a traffic report for a stretch of road you were planning on travelling down?
The same day, heavy traffic on the main A road I use.

- Have you actually ever been re-routed because of a traffic report someone else generated?
No, not yet. Here's hoping that one day I avoid the jam instead of sitting in it and then hearing about it on the radio!

- Have you actually tried to use Waze to route you somewhere other than your normal commute, and have it work?
I've routed to towns, but not to full addresses yet.
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Post by timmyjoe42
I've only been using Waze for a week+ and think it's been pretty amazing for turn by turn navigation. I pretty much put in my destination and navigate to it every time I get in the car to help out as much as I can. :) It's pretty much been useful in that regards from day 1. I haven't needed the traffic info yet.

The other day, I saw a wazer about half a mile from me, but it was too hard to ping them or whatever while driving. ;) I'll get better/ faster with the interface as I use it more.
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Post by TheCheesemeister
zzyzxuk wrote: - When did you first notice another Wazer on YOUR stretch of road?
- When did you first get a traffic report for a stretch of road you were planning on travelling down?
These both happened to me for the first time today - There were two waze users travelling the opposite direction to me on the same road this afternoon within 2 minutes. The numbers of users in the UK are definitely on the way up now 8-)
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Post by sketch
  • There was another guy "0.3 miles away" from me on the street I was on just two days ago! It's happened before, as well. Finally starting to get a userbase here.
  • I'm not sure, actually. My driving is generally against traffic, so it's not so bad.
  • Nope, I've seen "your route will be 8 minutes longer due to new traffic information", though.
  • All the time. My top priority was to have the Interstates and then all thoroughfares through the city fully operational, and I pretty much reached that point a few months ago.
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Post by Sidewalk
zzyzxuk wrote:- When did you first notice another Wazer on YOUR stretch of road?
- When did you first get a traffic report for a stretch of road you were planning on travelling down?
- Have you actually ever been re-routed because of a traffic report someone else generated?
- Have you actually tried to use Waze to route you somewhere other than your normal commute, and have it work?
1. Not sure, but a long time ago. Waze seems to be pretty busy in Socal.
2. Probably the first time I used Waze :)
3. Never been rerouted. I think that even wen traffic does hit, the alternatives will still take longer.
4. Yes, all the time. Especially since I ride a motorcycle with headphones, I use Waze to guide me through my headphones to where I need to go.
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