Houston's KHCW-TV Launches Free Mobile Phone Cam Service Enabling Drivers To Avoid Traffic Headaches
December 18 2007 - 11:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
HOUSTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Tis' the season to imagine driving
home or to the office without sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
One local television station here is doing its part to make that
dream come true by introducing the KHCW Traffic Jam Cell Cams -- a
free mobile traffic service helping local drivers to spot and avoid
highway tie-ups. KHCW-TV channel 39, the local CW network affiliate
in Houston, is launching the new advertising-supported service
targeting the more than 2,000,000 daily commuters in the region.
Commuters will now be able to view traffic tie-ups on their mobile
devices before leaving their home, office or school, to help them
plan the quickest and safest route. "This is something that isn't
dependent on having a morning news show to offer traffic to
commuters," said Roger Bare, vice president and general manager of
KHCW-TV, Tribune Broadcasting Company, Houston. "This service gives
people real-time traffic information anytime, anywhere and should
prove to be popular with local commuters." The service relies on
more than 600 traffic cameras operated by Houston TranStar. Houston
TranStar is a collaboration between four government agencies
responsible for providing transportation management and emergency
management services to the greater Houston area. Cameras are
mounted along freeways, tollways and some major county arterials in
the region, which includes Harris, Galveston, Montgomery Fort Bend,
Brazoria and Waller counties. This area, with an estimated
population of 5.16 million inhabitants and 4.3 million registered
vehicles, encompasses 5,948 square miles. Each day, local vehicles
travel more than 83.3 million miles within the area. "This new
service supports our mission of enhancing transportation services
to taxpayers throughout the region," said Dinah Massie Martinez,
public information officer, Houston TranStar. "Drivers will be able
to plan the most time and fuel-efficient route to wherever they are
going before ever setting foot in their vehicles." 3rd Dimension
Inc., a New York-based mobile marketing and application company
developed the system technology. "Cell phones are incredibly useful
and personal," said Bruce Laskin, chief operating officer of 3rd
Dimension. "We hope that we have added to that utility with an
application providing individualized video information whenever it
is needed." The KHCW Traffic Jam Cell Cams application is
compatible with data enabled phones on the Sprint, Verizon
Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile networks, and including popular
smart phones such as the BlackBerry, Palm Treo and the Motorola Q.
To download the video application, commuters have the option to
call 888-990-CW39 (888-990-2939) from their cell phone, go to the
http://www.khcw.com/ website and request the service by entering
their mobile phone number, or typing http://www.3tcam.com/houston
on their cell phone's web browser. Once the application is
downloaded, drivers can choose to view near real-time traffic
images from any of the cameras along their route and can even
program keys on their phone to quickly access their favorites.
Houston is the second market in the country to launch the
innovative mobile traffic service. The first was launched in early
2007 in collaboration with WCBS Newsradio 880 in New York City. 3rd
Dimension plans to roll out additional markets across the country
in 2008, creating a national mobile advertising network. About
Tribune Broadcasting Company TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB) is one of the
country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing,
interactive and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of
U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers,
television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets.
In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los
Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The
Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and
Hartford Courant. The company's broadcasting group operates 23
television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago's
WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and
information websites complement Tribune's print and broadcast
properties and extend the company's nationwide audience. About
Houston TranStar Houston TranStar is a collaboration between four
government agencies that coordinate and enhance transportation and
emergency management services, responding to incidents and
emergencies in Harris County and beyond. Sharing their resources to
serve area residents, the agencies are the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT), Harris County, Metropolitan Transit
Authority of Harris County (Metro) and the City of Houston. About
3rd Dimension Inc. 3rd Dimension (http://www.3rddimensiontech.com/)
is a mobile marketing and application company that creates and
distributes innovative real-time video content to consumers through
their mobile devices. Its mobile applications are designed to
attract targeted niche audiences making its solutions attractive to
advertisers and marketers. All trade names are the property of
their respective owners. This release is available on the KCSA
Worldwide Web site at http://www.kcsa.com/. CONTACT: Noah Milman /
Anne Donohoe KCSA Worldwide (646) 287-0433 / (212) 896-1261 /
DATASOURCE: 3rd Dimension CONTACT: Noah Milman, +1-646-287-0433, ,
or Anne Donohoe, +1-212-896-1261, , both of KCSA Worldwide, for 3rd
Dimension Web site: http://www.3rddimensiontech.com/
http://www.khcw.com/
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