Beyond big events, traffic info now always on navigation app

New Delhi: On Monday, traffic restrictions around Maharani Bagh remained in place for nearly 12 hours as Delhi Jal Board carried out repair work on Ring Road. On another day, it could be a road closure for civic work, a diversion due to a public event, or restrictions imposed for a VIP movement.

Such disruptions are a routine feature on Delhi’s roads. Although Delhi Traffic Police regularly issues advisories through its social media platforms, commuters often miss these updates unless they actively seek them out, leaving many to discover road closures and diversions only after getting stuck in traffic snarls.

To address this gap, Delhi Traffic Police is working to make coordination with navigation platforms a regular part of its traffic management strategy, ensuring that real-time road restrictions are reflected on the apps that lakhs of commuters use daily.

Until now, such collaborations were largely limited to major events requiring extensive traffic management. During high-profile occasions such as AI Summit, Republic Day celebrations and preparations for India-Africa Summit, the traffic police had coordinated with navigation platforms to update road closures, restrictions and diversions. These efforts helped commuters avoid affected stretches and plan alternate routes in advance.

Officials said the response from those initiatives highlighted the potential of using navigation platforms as a direct communication channel with road users. As a result, the traffic police has decided to institutionalise the process instead of activating it only during large-scale events.

Additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said that whenever information about road restrictions was shared with navigation platforms, the affected routes were automatically flagged on the apps and users were guided towards other options.

“We have now partnered with Lepton, Google’s Indian mapping partner, and are regularly sharing traffic advisories with them, including those issued on a daily basis. As part of the initiative, dedicated WhatsApp groups have been created to facilitate the rapid exchange of information between traffic police officials and representatives of navigation platforms,” Gupta added.

The groups are being used to share details of road closures, diversions, traffic restrictions, civic works, waterlogging-related disruptions and other developments that may affect vehicular movement.

Sources said the objective was to ensure that advisories issued by the traffic police are no longer confined to social media posts or media reports but reach commuters directly through the navigation apps they consult before and during their journeys.

The move is expected to be particularly useful during the monsoon season, when sudden waterlogging, emergency repairs and traffic diversions frequently affect key arterial roads across the city. By integrating real-time traffic advisories with navigation platforms, police hope to reduce congestion, improve route planning and help commuters avoid unexpected delays.