"This map contains a dynamic traffic map service with capabilities for visualizing traffic speeds relative to free-flow speeds as well as traffic incidents which can be visualized and identified. The traffic data is updated every five minutes.
Traffic speeds are displayed as a percentage of free-flow speeds, which is frequently the speed limit or how fast cars tend to travel when unencumbered by other vehicles. The streets are color coded as follows:
Green (fast): 85 - 100% of free flow speeds
Yellow (moderate): 65 - 85%
Orange (slow); 45 - 65%
Red (stop and go): 0 - 45%
Esri's historical, live, and predictive traffic feeds come directly from HERE (www.HERE.com). HERE collects billions of GPS and cell phone probe records per month and, where available, uses sensor and toll-tag data to augment the probe data collected. An advanced algorithm compiles the data and computes accurate speeds. Historical traffic is based on the average of observed speeds over the past three years. The live and predictive traffic data is updated every five minutes through traffic feeds.
The color coded traffic map layer can be used to represent relative traffic speeds; this is a common type of a map for online services and is used to provide context for routing, navigation and field operations. The traffic map layer contains two sublayers: Traffic and Live Traffic. The Traffic sublayer (shown by default) leverages historical, live and predictive traffic data; while the Live Traffic sublayer is calculated from just the live and predictive traffic data only. A color coded traffic map can be requested for the current time and any time in the future. A map for a future request might be used for planning purposes.
The map also includes dynamic traffic incidents showing the location of accidents, construction, closures and other issues that could potentially impact the flow of traffic. Traffic incidents are commonly used to provide context for routing, navigation and field operations. Incidents are not features; they cannot be exported and stored for later use or additional analysis.
The service works globally and can be used to visualize traffic speeds and incidents in many countries. Check the service coverage web map to determine availability in your area of interest. In the coverage map, the countries color coded in dark green support visualizing live traffic. The support for traffic incidents can be determined by identifying a country. For detailed information on this service, including a data coverage map, visit the directions and routing documentation and ArcGIS Help."
