FAQ - Waze Data

What kind of data does Waze provide?

The U.S. DOT receives and curates both user-reported and auto-generated data from the Waze for Cities. These data are available for approved users and they cover the entire United States. Among other things, the data show traffic incidents and jams reported by users of the Waze mobile navigation app. Data have been archived since April 2017, and are received at high frequency from Waze.

Who is an approved user?

Currently the SDC is available only to USDOT-approved projects. If you would like access, or would like to propose your research to be a part of the SDC community, please email sdc-support@dot.gov. More information on Secured Data Commons is located here.

Where are the data stored, and how do I access it?

An approved user may access the data using the SDC. The SDC provides a secure, cloud-based analytical platform for registered users to access and analyze data sets including the Waze data.

What kind of analysis is possible with the Waze data?

The Waze data support numerous possible analyses, including analysis of crowdsourced crash reports by road segment, frequency of hazard reports over time, and time series analyses of jams. To date, the Waze data have been principally used by USDOT for crash frequency and crash risk modeling; other applications include research on incident response times and use of incident frequency as a proxy for traffic volume.

What data products can be shared publicly from the Waze data?

Analysis of the Waze data must be done within the Secure Data Commons; raw data cannot be exported from the SDC. Data analysis products, such as model results, figures, and tables can be exported from the SDC and shared publicly, subject to the approval of the USDOT and Waze. Derived data products summarizing counts of incidents in an area and over a time period can be exported from the SDC.

If I want to know more about the Waze data, who do I reach out to?

Please contact the Secure Data Commons team, sdc-support@dot.gov.