Steve Eldridge: Multi-million dollar ?Dust Network? not likely to predict accurately

Before Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen hit on a little idea they called “Microsoft,” they first attempted to predict traffic. They developed algorithms that would take historic data and convert it into an estimate of what traffic flow and volume would be on a given road at a given time. Now, some elements of Microsoft have branched off to form a company called Inrix, which is rolling out a service, and I use that term loosely, called the Dust Network.

Inrix has already burned through close to $20 million on this pipe dream, which some have called the Holy Grail of traffic information. I think it?s little more than alchemy. There are far too many variables to creating accurate predictions, including weather patterns and any events that are in the area. How much value is there in knowing that there?s going to be two and a half miles of slow traffic approaching the Fort McHenry toll plaza? What makes traffic information useful is when there is something out of the ordinary. We don?t need to know what things are like when the lanes are open and the sky is clear. We need to know when there are lanes blocked by a serious crash and back-ups are growing rapidly. The other major problem I see in this company is one that has plagued many that have developed technology to solve traffic-related problems, which is that they don?t bring in people with expertise in traffic reporting. Knowing what the consumer needs to know and how they want it delivered to them is just as important as the latest widget.

Randy writes: “I see that you have suggested readers to press #77 on cell phone to connect with the nearest state police. I?m a deaf person and would not be able to do this on my BlackBerry. Is there an e-mail address or IM (instant messaging) address available for us to use to report nonemergency stuff?”