A new app will let you instantly alert your elected officials when your bus is late, the highway is backed up, or your plane is stuck on the tarmac.
The I'm Stuck app, from infrastructure advocacy group Building America's Future, is designed to give commuters a platform to let public officials know when their infrastructure is failing them. It's a new twist on an old planning strategy of counting the number of riders and drivers who use a particular route. But instead of sending that data to planners, I'm Stuck goes directly to the folks who decide whether a project is built or a service is expanded.
Like tweeting a company CEO when a product fails, I'm Stuck goes straight to the top. If enough people use it, the app's creators hope it will emphasize to policymakers that American infrastructure is lagging behind, and time spent behind the wheel or waiting for transit is sapping worker productivity.
The app is specifically focused on the House of Representatives and the Senate, since gridlock there can lead to jammed trains and delayed flights. Similarly, Building America's Future emphasizes its bipartisan nature. In addition to Rendell, co-chairs include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former CA governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
There's another important goal: Helping Americans realize that policy and infrastructure are closely related.
"Usually commuters think traffic is like weather -- it is something that happens to them and they have no control over it," former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, now co-chair of Building America's Future, said in a statement. "The policies we put in place, or the lack of a coherent long-term infrastructure plan, directly impacts the daily experience of Americans trying to get around their communities."
The app allows users to upload pictures of their stopped train or clogged exit, though it strongly encourages drivers not to use the app while driving -- no need to cause yet another traffic jam. Users can select from pre-written messages or write their own, and it's possible to send a message after a jam or delay has already passed. Download it and get to work.
Homepage Photo: Bex Ross / Flickr
