Editors Community Newsletter
Hello Editors!
Welcome to the second Editors Community Newsletter. Waze Communities are doing amazing things and you can read all about them right here. Keep us updated with your great stories!
DJ Waze: Listen to the Belgium Playlists
The Belgium community together with Fred Verhoeven, a DJ and a big fan of Waze, came up with the idea of putting together a couple of playlists for Waze users.
Fred provided new playlists each week, and the community created cool graphics to promote on social media. Go ahead and listen to the playlists (Spotify & Apple Music - each image links to a different playlist!).
Indonesia: License Plate Restrictions
Waze opened the option for license plate number based navigation in 2017, at the time the community shared the data and Waze implemented it on the map.
Now the option to add license plate restrictions are available in the WME!
The Indonesian community kicked off the feature. The Indonesian community had a dedicated MapRaid where 514 segments with license plate restrictions were added to the map. The city traffic department reported that in LP restricted areas, accidents dropped by 20%. There was even an article about it.
New York got Beacons!
Volunteer Map Editors from New York, New Jersey and the surrounding areas came together with CCP PANYNJ (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) and CCP MTA B&T (Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Bridges and Tunnels Division) worked on implementing Waze Beacons within the tunnels leading into New York City.
Weeks of work went into mapping out the tunnels to schematic specifications, adding the necessary configurations in WME, physically installing the beacons in the tunnels, and finally performing test drives before going live.
The Global and Local Champs, and State Managers, who participated are OrbitC, Rfrsw101, JDeLosa, and PesachZ.
Portugal: Helping Disabled Drivers
The option to search and find 300 parking spots for disabled drivers is now available in Portugal for the first time - thanks to the community. When Searching for the keyword PMR (Pessoas com Mobilidade Reduzida" - People with Reduced Mobility), Wazers will see these spots in the app, identified by “🅿️ ♿️ Read more at RTP National News
Philippines in the Spotlight
Yahoo ran a story about the development and growth of the Philippino community, highlighting community pillars like Alvin Magno, Ada and Brian Altman. The story does a great job of describing the challenges and achievements of the growing community, like keeping gas prices updated, and making users understand they are not customer support.
Raiding URs in the USA
OrbitC and the UR project team of the Northeast US community used Mapraid tactics to handle a pressing issue: lots and lots of URs. On one hand the map was full of all kinds of reports by users. On the other hand a lot of new and inexperienced editors were hesitant to handle them.
The solution: Create small teams comprised of veteran and new editors, and handle tons of URs. The result: mentoring for new editors, and a massive 93% reduction in URs.
Bring on the Vignette Pass
Communities in eastern Europe worked with Waze to implement the Vignette pass - toll roads that require payment in advance - into the app. This enabled drivers to navigate the best route without having to pay fines for driving on Vignette-required roads by mistake. The mighty Map Editor crew began their mission with a Mapraid, tagging all Vignette-verified toll roads across the region, making the project possible. This massive undertaking was done by communities from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Latvia, Moldova, and Romania! Read more in the Waze blog.
The Waze Rock Star
Surprising everyone in the NA mega meetup our own routing master, Yigal, grabbed a ukulele and burst into song. Check it out
We'd love to hear your feedback and even better, more stories. Reach out to your community leaders and share your community's achievements.