Boston is partnering up with taxi service Uber to mine data and help create better transportation policies.

Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston’s chief information officer, said the partnership will present the city with a useful tool to “help inform policy planning and operation,” he said according to a Boston Herald report.

Uber said it will provide the city with data on where the person is picked up and dropped off, along with the time of day and how much distance was traveled. This data will be anonymous and identified only by ZIP code.

Calling it a “first-of-its-kind partnership,” Uber said the data will expand Boston’s capability to solve transportation problems, including managing urban growth, relieving traffic congestion, creating more public transportation, and reducing carbon emissions.

The city will get its first batch of data in about two weeks, and then it will start receiving it quarterly.

One thing officials will be looking for in the data is the travel time between certain neighborhoods and downtown Boston, which will provide useful data on travel patterns and travel time, Franklin-Hodge said.

He added that one of the first things he will do is create a baseline for travel time and congested routes to create a starting point for future policy discussions, and then see how new development impacts travel times using that baseline.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh hailed the partnership in a statement, saying that the city is using data “to change the way we deliver services, and we welcome the opportunity to add to our resources.” He added that the partnership will help the city reach its transportation goals and “allow us to think smarter, finding more innovative and creative solutions to some of our most pressing challenges.”

Uber has its own struggles with the city, however. The company faces regulatory battles across the country, including in Boston, where the mayor is examining possible regulations on ride-sharing companies like Uber.