How Social Media is Simplifying Our Commutes

Though working remotely is becoming more commonplace as web applications and social media tools shrink our world, the vast majority of people around the globe still need to wake up every morning and go to work in some location that isn't their living room or home office.  For those of us that have to suffer through the pain of commuting, social media applications are making life at least a little bit simpler.  From helping us to avoid traffic during our commutes, to making it easier to hook up with a buddy for the HOV lane, to assisting us in navigating the city subway or bus system, social media is making commutes easier in a number of clever ways.

The applications and web sites in this post are just a glimpse at the ways in which social media is revolutionizing how people get to and from work.





Helping Us Avoid Traffic
Rush hour -- the bane of any regular commuter's existence -- causes traffic backups across the country every day at predictable times, and in predictable places.  It is that predictability that makes Google's predictive traffic maps possible. In addition to offering live traffic maps, Google Maps can predict where traffic is going to be at certain times, allowing you to adjust your route to avoid the worst roads.  And with the application's turn by turn driving directions -- and free GPS app on smartphones like the Motorola Droid -- you won't get lost while trying out a new route.

Of course, some roads are unavoidable, so skipping rush hour traffic completely may still be impossible for most people.  Yet, social media applications are helping commuters avoid trouble spots that spring up unexpectedly as well.  One example is Waze, a social application that taps into the power of the crowd to keep an eye out for traffic accidents, speed traps, downed trees, construction, and other causes of traffic, allowing you to re-route on the fly to avoid slowdowns.

Helping Us Carpool
For those of us who would rather share a ride to work or school, social media is helping make that easier as well.  Carpool communities Zimride and Avego match commuters heading in the same direction.  Zimride uses Facebook Connect so that you can advertise your empty seats to friends or colleagues or find people you trust to share a ride with, while Avego uses a ratings system so that those who enjoy each others' company will be matched again, but you can rest easy knowing you won't get the same axe murderer twice.

These applications are even being used by universities and businesses to encourage people to commute as a group more often.


Helping Us Navigate Public Transportation
Anyone living in a mid-to-large sized city likely uses public transportation to get to and from work.  But public transportation can be tricky to navigate, especially to those new to a city or planning a new commuting route, which is where apps like HopStop and Google Transit come in. These apps will map out your transit route, including transfers, and often suggest multiple routes (because some people prefer longer commutes with fewer hops, and vice versa). This type of application is so helpful for commuters, that a few cities have started to open up their transportation data streams to encourage such development.  Portland, Oregon's TriMet system, for example, has an open data stream on top of which developers have built almost 30 web and mobile apps for commuters.

The next step for public transit applications might be augmented reality.  One of the first to market is iPhone app developer acrossair, who offers augmented reality apps for transit systems in 9 major cities around the world -- simply hold up your phone and get a live video overlay pointing you to the nearest metro stop and directions for using public transportation to get where you need to go.

Helping Extreme Commuters
Some commuters travel further than others, and for those individuals in the class of so-called "extreme commuters" that log thousands of miles per year flying between cities, social media can also help.  The free WorldMate mobile app, for example, which works on iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia phones, can help frequent travelers organize and access their itinerary, keep on top of flight status, find their way around a new city, get weather reports, convert currency, and even book a hotel room if they need to stay a few extra days on business.  

Travel social network Placely, meanwhile, can automatically keep track of frequent flier miles across multiple airlines, allowing frequent travelers and long-distance commuters to know exactly when they're due a free ticket.

The apps mentioned in this post are just the tip of the iceberg.  As gadgets become more connected to our social networks and real world data becomes more open, more applications and social media tools to help simplify our commutes are surely coming.
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