I'm Stuck: App Lets Frustrated Travelers Complain, Urges Congress to Act

The app, launched by a pair of advocacy groups, is designed to send a message to lawmakers.

Stuck in traffic or on a stalled train? There's a new, direct way to gripe to the government about it.
 
The free “I’m Stuck” app, available for both iPhone and Android devices, lets frustrated travelers — whether they're stuck in traffic, hampered by transit delays or sitting on a tarmac — contact their elected representatives to complain.
 
The two infrastructure and transportation advocacy groups behind the app hope it will empower travelers to speak up about their travel troubles, and put pressure on lawmakers to boost infrastructure funding.
 
Last month, the House passed a bill providing additional money for state transportation projects through May 2015. However, the Senate refuses to consider it, claiming the president will veto the legislation because it doesn't extend the funding long enough, according to the thehill.com.
 
"Usually commuters think traffic is like weather — it is something that happens to them, and they have no control over it," Democratic former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, co-chair of Building America’s Future, said in a statement. "That isn’t the case at all.” 
 
Rendell's group, along with the U.S. Travel Association, wants to federal lawmakers to strike a deal to sustain the Highway Trust Fund, expected to run out late this summer. They hope the app will directly notify Congress of infrastructure needs, and of Americans' demand for change.
 
The House passed a bill last month that would fund state transportation projects through May of next year, but the Senate and the president say it doesn't extend the funding long enough, The Hill reported.
 
Roger Dow, who heads the U.S. Travel Association, says Congress is aware of the need but “fails to act” on them. “The Highway Trust Fund is running on fumes, and Congress is running out of time,” he said.
 
The app was first released in 2013 but is being expanded now with new features extending to the travel industry, as well as millions of American travelers.
 
The new app also contains messages for travelers stuck in highway traffic specifically, urging Congress to act on the Highway Trust Fund. However, it advises highway users not to use the app while driving.
 
Click here to download the app.
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