How does Fintraffic App help a regular commuter? Sanna, who works as a nurse, uses the application almost daily
Sanna Kankarisalo-Kaasalainen from Ikaalinen commutes almost 100 kilometres in one direction every day. With the help of Fintraffic App, you can get real-time information about the driving conditions and traffic situation in the morning which helps you reserve more time for the commute if necessary. Being prepared makes commuting smoother and safer.
Sanna, who works as a nurse, lives in Ikaalinen but travels by car daily to work at Tampere University Hospital near the centre of Tampere. Every day, she commutes up to 100 kilometres in one direction.
Due to the long journey to work, Sanna is an active user of Fintraffic App. The Fintraffic App application offers real-time traffic data from Finnish roads and rail traffic to road users and rail passengers. The application uses push notifications that allow the users to immediately receive information on their phone screen if an incident occurs in local traffic. Notifications of road traffic disruption alerts are based on GPS positioning, so the service also works when on the road.
Sanna uses the application almost daily. She uses the app mostly during winter, when the weather conditions may be particularly challenging.
"Because I have a long commute, I check the application in advance to see the traffic situation and the weather so that I can prepare for the commute already the evening before. In that case, I can ask myself if I should leave for work a little earlier.”
Real-time information directly from road traffic centres
The application utilises real-time open data produced from Fintraffic traffic centres, among other sources. Fintraffic App also offers road users data from all Finnish road weather cameras and details of road works, congestion points, traffic measurement stations, winter road maintenance information and electric car charging stations. The convenient map view allows you to view the information that interests you most. Sanna is especially happy about the road cameras.
"I like to check the road condition cameras to see what the road conditions look like. That is the feature I like and use the most. The road condition information shows, for example, if the roads are in good condition or if they have been salted.”
Fintraffic App helps users to plan their journey to be as smooth as possible. In the future, the aim is to develop the application to involve even better communications. For example, users could get a reminder of slippery roads the evening before, allowing them to select the best transport option to avoid unnecessary complications. Similarly, the traffic impacts of known events could be communicated to users well in advance.
"The application is good and it helps me very much. That's why I use it every day. During the summer, I do not need it as much as the roads are in good shape, but I am interested to know what the road conditions are.”
Feedback and observations on road conditions
One of the objectives of Fintraffic App is to activate users to share their own feedback and observations on traffic deviations and dangerous spots, such as animals on the road, stopped vehicles, poor driving conditions and other exceptional situations in traffic. The application is integrated with the Traffic Customer Service’s feedback channel, which enables users to easily send feedback directly through the application. The user can also easily follow the progress of their feedback within the app. User reports appear on the map for 30 minutes.
Reporting is easy and quick: tap the yellow speech bubble icon in the application, select the report type and specify the location of the report, if necessary. Sanna also uses Fintraffic App's feedback channel in her daily life.
"For example, I use the feedback channel if I notice a road that needs to be ploughed, slippery conditions or broken street lights on my way to work.”
All this in your pocket
Road traffic
- Approximately 800 road weather cameras located all around Finland
- Nearby traffic disruption alerts as push notifications
- All electric car charging points and gas car refuelling stations
- Details of driving conditions, road weather station information, road weather warnings
- Congestion points and traffic measuring points
- Up-to-date information on road work
- Winter maintenance information: ploughing, sanding and salting of roads
Train traffic
- Real-time timetable data for all Finnish railway stations
- Monitoring of specific train routes, get push notifications to your phone on e.g. disruptions on your commuter route
- Real-time rail traffic disruption alerts
Feedback channel
- Send feedback on the condition of traffic routes or report any observed disruptions
- Track the processing of your feedback from the app
Fintraffic App is available for iPhone and Android phones
Photos: Timo Marttila
