Just in time to assist international travelers before two of the busiest international travel holidays of the summer, Canada Day and Independence Day, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) has launched a real-time traffic notification system utilizing Twitter.com. The program was designed to inform travelers which bridge has the shortest crossing times.

The service is updated every 30 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic reports, and only generated when there are reported delays at the bridges. Subscribers to the service, called “followers” in Twitter jargon, will receive updates on wait times at the Rainbow and Lewiston-Queenston Bridges.

Traffic updates will allow the followers of Twitter.com/NiagaraBridges (the Twitter account name that provides traffic update) to determine which bridge has the shortest crossing time. The new service will allow a follower to be notified if there is a delay at one bridge and no wait at another, in efforts to enhance the crossing experience for automobile travelers and save them travel time.

“We are utilizing Twitter technology to offer yet another service to our valued travelers that cross our bridges and to assist them in determining which one of our bridges has the quickest crossing time,” Norma Higgs, chair, NFBC said. “Followers of Twitter.com/NiagaraBridges can easily avoid delays just by monitoring the traffic update service before choosing which bridge to cross.”