Houston TranStar collaborates with different county, city and state agencies to provide information about the region's transportation system and help mitigate congestion by keeping roadways clear. Members of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce's transportation and governmental affairs committee toured the facility Oct. 6.

As part of the tour, the group entered the Emergency Operations Center, which features desks for personnel with TranStar, the city of Houston, Harris County and other officials to work from during crises, weather emergencies, large sporting events and other large-scale events impacting Houstonians.

Members of the chamber listened to Gunn's presentation on the functions of the Emergency Operations Center as well as stories of the entity's experience during crises like Hurricane Harvey. (Mikah Boyd/ Community Impact)

During large emergencies such as Hurricane Harvey, as many as 200 people are called to the Emergency Operations Center to filter calls, monitor conditions of neighborhoods and help dispatch volunteers, according to Misty Gunn, the manager of the Harris County Emergency Operations Center. Gunn said TranStar monitors various events and assists in crisis response from the Emergency Operations Center.

Misty Gunn, the manager of the Harris County Emergency Operations Center, shared stories of emergency responses she oversaw. (Mikah Boyd/ Community Impact)


The room is also home to large screens projecting live feeds of weather radars, live feeds from news organizations, traffic cameras around the city, and a flight radar showing all planes and other aircraft going in and out of major Texas cities.

The Emergency Operations Center serves as a centralized location for various governmental departments for city, state and sometimes national representatives to meet and monitor situations during times of emergency. (Mikah Boyd/Community Impact)

Another major room in the facility is the Transportation Control Room. This darkened room hosts employees who monitor traffic conditions around the city via traffic cameras. They collect data on accidents on major highways to record response times for various departments and gather statistics on road safety in the city.

The Transportation Control features numerous desks of personnel who monitor traffic conditions in various parts of the city and gather information on roadway accidents and responses to said accidents. (Mikah Boyd/ Community Impact)


Some of the highlighted services of TranStar included the use of the group’s app to gain access to live traffic feeds, report accidents, reach out for assistance during an accident and other free services and information. One key service is Tow and Go, which provides free towing for motorists stranded on freeways.

For more information on TranStar, visit its website.