This fact sheet provides an overview of the traffic management systems (TMSs) that are operated by State departments of transportation (DOTs) and  the challenges they face in monitoring, collecting, or sharing information with travelers in advance of their reaching en route destinations where travel decisions may be influenced by traffic information. The prevalence of mobile devices connected to third-party service providers that deliver travel condition information has prompted many State DOTs to change how they relay information to travelers. To support sharing information with travelers, agencies are exploring a technology known as geofencing, which uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to create a virtual geographic boundary. When a mobile device enters or exits the boundary of an area, software automatically collects traffic and incident data and can send travel alerts or information to devices in that specific geographic (geofence) location.

Recommended citation: Federal Highway Administration, Using Geofencing to Actively Monitor, Collect, and Share Information (Washington, DC: 2024) https://doi.org/10.21949/1521770