Traffic Report

Chicago, Chicago Midway Airport | 6.29 miles away

Overview

This page gives a quck view of all relevant travel time information for one particular route. It defaults to showing data from the last three years for the current day of the week. The main component of the page is a chart with numerous configuration options.

Main Elements

Route Title Block

The top of the page presents the name of the current route being viewed and the length of the current route in miles. This section also includes a Refresh button to reload the current page.

Time of Day Ribbon

Near the top of the page is the Time of Day Ribbon, which indicates the time of day that all values apply. The time is equal to the time of day that the most recent travel time data for the current route was collected. This is usually within the last 5 minutes, but when data has not recently been collected the time could be outdated. If this value is more than one hour old a notification will appear at the top of the page indicating that data is outdated.

Most Recent Widget

This widget indicates the most recently collected travel time for the current route. This value is an actual value and is not effected by any filtering options. Typically this value is updated once every five minutes. A green background and font combined with a icon indicates the most recently collected travel time is better than average. A red background and font combined with a icon indicates the most recently collected travel time is worse than average. The value is for the time of day represented in the Time of Day Ribbon, which is not necessarily the current time.

Difference Widget

This widget indicates the difference between the most recently collected travel time and the average travel time for the current route. A green background and font combined with a icon indicates the most recently collected travel time is lower than average. A red background and font combined with a icon indicates the most recently collected travel time is higher than average. The value is for the time of day represented in the Time of Day Ribbon, which is not necessarily the current time.

Average Widget

This widget indicates the average travel time for the current route taking into account any filtering options. The value is for the time of day represented in the Time of Day Ribbon, which is not necessarily the current time.

Chart

The chart plots out various travel time values. It includes time of day along the horizontal axis and travel time minutes along the vertial axis. The chart can be customized in a variety of ways using the Chart Options section of page. The chart defaults to showing lines for Average and Most Recent travel times. Most recent travel times are always actual values and are not effected by any filters. If no travel times have been collected for the current date then the line for most recent travel times will not be included by default. The default chart also shows the Good Chance travel time prediction range as well as benchmark lines for Medium and Heavy congestion. Elements in the legend that are gray in color are not currently displayed on the chart but can be added. Hovering over the chart will show numeric values for a particular point on the chart. Values for Average and Most Recent travel times are shown on the chart itself and the remaining values are shown in the legend. The chart also includes a vertical Now line to indicate the current time of day. A Most Recent vertical line is included to indicate the time of day the most recent travel time was collected - this line will cross at the time of day indicated by the Time of Day ribbon. Usually the Now and Most Recent vertical lines overlap. If the Most Recent travel time series line is not displayed than the vertical Most Recent vertical line is omitted as well. To improve the experience on smaller mobile devices, certain chart elements might be removed by default when displayed on these devices.

More Details - Sample Count Widget

This widget indicates the total number of days that travel time information has been collected for the current route taking into account any filtering options. The value is for the time of day represented in the Time of Day Ribbon, which is not necessarily the current time.

More Details - Most Recent Traffic Data Widget

This widget indicates the time the most recent travel time information was collected for the current route.

Weather - Conditions Widget

This widget indicates the most recent weather conditions collected at the weather station nearest the current route. The Weather section indicates the name of the nearest weather station and the distance from the center point of the current route. The center point of a route is determined by averaging the latitude / longitude of the start and end points of the route.

Weather - Most Recent Observation Widget

This widget indicates the time the most recent weather information was collected for the weather station nearest the current route.

Chart Options

Route

The Route dropdown defaults to the current route, but it can be changed to any available route. This dropdown can be searched by keyword when using a supported web browser. This keyword search is not as advanced as the Search page. The APPLY button must be clicked for this setting to take effect.

Range Filters: Date Range

The date range picker defaults to the last three years of data. Clicking on the date range picker allows the selection of pre-defined date ranges or custom date ranges. Dates going back to October 1, 2004 can be selected. The APPLY button must be clicked for this setting to take effect.

Range Filters: Weekdays

The day of week buttons default to the current day of the week. One or more days can be selected at the same time, which will cause travel time information to be displayed for an aggregation of all the days selected. At least one day must be selected. To change from one single day to another single day, select the new day and then unselect the old day. The APPLY button must be clicked for this setting to take effect.

Range Filters: Time Range

The time range slider sets the span of hours the chart displays on the horizontal axis. The default on most devices is to display a full 24 hours. The default on smaller devices is to display a four hour block in which the current time of day falls. The minimum range selectable is four hours. Changing the time range slider effects the chart immediately.

Other Filters: Weather Conditions

The weather condition buttons allow traffic data to be filtered based on historical weather conditions. The default is to include traffic data under all weather conditions. Weather data is only available from January 1, 2013. The APPLY button must be clicked for this setting to take effect.

All

Includes traffic data under all weather conditions.

Snow / Sleet / Rain

Includes only traffic data where the weather conditions included percipitation at the time the traffic data was collected. Temperature is not considered. If weather conditions were unknown for a particular traffic data the traffic data will be exlcuded from the results.

Like Now

Includes only traffic data where the weather conditions at the time the traffic data was collected match the current weather conditions. Components of the current weather conditions taken into account include the particular type of precipitation currently occuring and current fog conditions. Temperature is not considered. If weather conditions were unknown for a particular traffic data the traffic data will be exlcuded from the results.

Data Elements: Travel Time Data Lines

The travel time data line buttons determine which data series lines will appear on the chart. Multiple lines can be selected for display at the same time. The colors below indicate the line color on the chart. Clicking a data line button will have an effect on the chart immediately.

Average

This line represents the average travel time, taking into account all filters, for the time of day on the horizonal axis. Gaps in the line indicate no travel time has ever been collected for that particular time of day. This line is shown by default.

Most Recent

This line represents the actural travel time on the last day travel times were collected for the current route for the time of day on the horizonal axis. Gaps in the line indicate no travel time was collected for that particular time of day on the last day travel times were collected for the current route. This line is shown by default if the most recent travel time was collected on the current date.

Best

This line represents the best, or minimum, travel time, taking into account all filters, for the time of day on the horizonal axis. Gaps in the line indicate no travel time has ever been collected for that particular time of day.

Worst

This line represents the worst, or maximum, travel time, taking into account all filters, for the time of day on the horizonal axis. Gaps in the line indicate no travel time has ever been collected for that particular time of day.

Data Elements: Travel Time Prediction Ranges

The travel time prediction range buttons determine which data series ranges will appear on the chart. Multiple ranges can be selected for display at the same time. The colors below indicate the range color on the chart. Clicking a prediction range button will have an effect on the chart immediately.

Fair Chance (65%)

Indicates the range, taking into account all filters, in which the middle 30% of all collected travel times have fallen. Travel times higher than the upper end of this range occur 35% of the time. Travel times lower than the lower end of this range occur 35% of the time. There is an approximately 65% chance that future travel times meeting the same filter criteria will fall below the upper end of this range. If you are travelling for leisure with no particular need to get somewhere on time then allow yourself the amount of time indicated by this range.

Good Chance (80%)

Indicates the range, taking into account all filters, in which the middle 60% of all collected travel times have fallen. Travel times higher than the upper end of this range occur 20% of the time. Travel times lower than the lower end of this range occur 20% of the time. There is an approximately 80% chance that future travel times meeting the same filter criteria will fall below the upper end of this range. If you are travelling somewhere on a regular basis then allowing yourself the amount of time indicated by this range will get you to your destination more often than not. This range is shown by default.

Excellent Chance (95%)

Indicates the range, taking into account all filters, in which the middle 90% of all collected travel times have fallen. Travel times higher than the upper end of this range occur 5% of the time. Travel times lower than the lower end of this range occur 5% of the time. There is an approximately 95% chance that future travel times meeting the same filter criteria will fall below the upper end of this range. If you are travelling somewhere and want to be almost certain you will arrive on time, give yourself the amount of time indicated by this range.

Data Elements: Traffic Congestion Benchmark Linkes

The traffic congestion benchmark lines are flat horizontal lines that are a surrogate for congestion levels. They represent the number of minutes it would take to travel the entire route at a constant speed. Travel times equal to these benchmark lines would equate to traveling the route at an average speed equal to the benchmark. Clicking a congestion benchmark line button will have an effect on the chart immediately.

None - 55MPH Avg

This line indicates the time in which the route could be travelled if the average travel speed was equal to 55 miles per hour. Travel times below this line indicate a situation with no congestion. Travel times above this line but below the 35MPH average indicate light congestion.

Medium - 35MPH Avg

This line indicates the time in which the route could be travelled if the average travel speed was equal to 35 miles per hour. Travel times below this line indicate a situation with light or no congestion. Travel times above this line but below the 15MPH average indicate medium congestion. This line is shown by default.

Heavy - 15MPH Avg

This line indicates the time in which the route could be travelled if the average travel speed was equal to 15 miles per hour. Travel times below this line indicate a situation with medium, light, or no congestion. Travel times above this line indicate heavy congestion. This line is shown by default.

Report URL

Represents the URL of the current report with all chart options taken into account. This URL can be copied by selecting the text and copying it, or by pressing the copy button to the right of the URL. The URL can then be emailed or saved as bookmark for future reference.

Reset Button

Clicking this button resets all of the chart options back to their defaults. If the Route in the drop down has been changed since the page was orginally loaded the Route is reset to the route that was selected when the page was originally loaded.

APPLY Button

Clicking this button retrieves new data from the server for options specified by Route, Date Range, and Weekdays. All relevant page data is updated upon successfully loading data from the server. If an error occurs retrieving data from the server an error message is displayed.