Uber To Launch ‘Uber Movement’ in Atlanta

Uber Technologies Inc. wants to help Atlanta tackle one of its biggest headaches — traffic congestion. The ride-hailing service plans to bring a new tool called Uber Movement to the Big A.

According to this week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle, the web-based dashboard uses Uber trip data in a city to provide insight into traffic chokepoints, traffic flow and mass-transit use. The data is currently available to city planners, academics and private citizens in six cities — Boston; Washington, D.C.; Manila, Philippines; Sydney, Australia; and Bogota, Colombia.

The data Uber provides is interesting, but not important, noted Jennifer Clark, director of the Center for Urban Innovation at Georgia Tech. Uber trip data is of minimal value to city planners because it’s not representative of overall traffic patterns, Clark added. Urban planners also seek granular data on regular commutes to work, school and grocery stores. “Uber vehicle data may not be the first and best data for that purpose,”  Clark said.

Urvaksh Karkaria covers technology for Atlanta Business Chronicle.