MapQuest Blog

MapQuest is pleased to announce the general release of OnStar eNav, an online destination planning service that allows OnStar subscribers to send locations to the Turn-by-Turn Navigation Service in their OnStar vehicle. In the weeks leading up to launch, we've had all kinds of folks taking eNav out for a 'test drive'. One of our Product guys, Marshall, sent us a note about his experience, and it sounded so good I decided to share it with the MapQuest Blog:

"Friday night at 6:30pm, I used the Send To OnStar server and added a Chili's Restaurant, a soccer field, and my home to my OnStar address book using the Send To OnStar anchors on the MQ pages.

I hopped in the car, connected to Virtual Advisor and asked for Chili's... the directions were downloaded quickly and the route was perfect! After a Coke (hahaha), I then asked for "Soccer" (which I had used as the label for Amos Herr Park) and again the system worked flawlessly, including using a shortcut that I know! Finally, the wife and I swapped cars and I showed her how to use the system... she asked for "Home" and, once again, the system performed perfectly!

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. Our car doesn't have a nav system - but it did come with OnStar and thru the radio and the eNav service, and it's almost as good as the $3000 Nav system option!"

Thanks for the great feedback, Marshall! To check out more details about OnStar eNav from MapQuest, check out the Send to OnStar page.

If you're a gadget geek like me, you probably love Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs, for those in the business). Having a GPS in your car is like having your buddy that knows where everything is, and can tell you which exit to take in order to get around the evening rush hour. But searching for an address on a 4 inch screen as you're cooking down the interstate at 60 mph isn't exactly "safe". So, we made it easy for you to plan on MapQuest.com, from the comfort of your home computer.



Introducing our new "Send to GPS" web feature: coming in April, we'll be adding a simple drop-down link to our search results pages that allow you to download destinations or itineraries to your Garmin GPS device, and take them with you on the road. We've teamed up with Garmin Ltd., one of the best-known brands in navigation, to sync up the 16 million points of interests on MapQuest.com to dozens of their most popular devices.

Even though you've traded your printer for a GPS gadget to help you find places, you can still rely on MapQuest to make your travels safer and more convenient. To check compatible Garmin devices and to download the Garmin Communicator plug-in, check out all the details on our Send to GPS feature page.

Happy travels.

If you're like most MapQuest users, you don't just come to MapQuest once or twice a month - you get maps and directions on an ongoing basis. With our new MapQuest Toolbar you can have easy access to the most useful MapQuest features right on your browser at all times.



The Toolbar has one-click quick links to Maps, Directions and a Web search capability. But perhaps one of the most convenient features is the quick link to our new Real Time Traffic feature.




Just choose one of more than 80 cities across the US and you'll quickly click to real time traffic in your area at any time. Check it before you leave for work or before an important appointment. You'll now be able to see congestion before you hop on a highway and choose an alternative route.

You probably already have one or maybe more toolbars on your browser but do you use all the features they bring? Use a Toolbar where you know you'll get the most use out of the handy features it provides right at your fingertips.

Try out the Toolbar now!

We're pleased to announce the launch of our new Current Traffic feature. Now when you bring up a map or generate driving directions, with one click you can easily visualize traffic conditions in most major US metros. This is a great way to quickly check traffic as you begin your commute home from the office, or before heading out to the airport, concert, ballpark, or mall. Keep in mind that once you've started your trip, MapQuest Traffic is a real-time feature (updated every five minutes) and things can change quickly once you're on the road.

How to use Traffic:

Traffic view of Miami, FL


There are two main parts to the feature:

1. Relative speed or Flow: This is the green/yellow/red highlights over major roads which indicate congestion levels. Think of the colors like this:
   
   Green = Smooth sailing
   Yellow = Congestion building - be extra cautious and look out for slowing traffic
   Red = Backed up! Plan to be patient, try a detour, or wait for things to improve
   
   
   
2. Incidents and Construction: Pretty simple – just click on the icons to get more info, or toggle the display on/off using the boxes in the Current Traffic legend.
   
   Incidents: Accidents and other events which might impact normal traffic flow
   Construction: That stuff that keeps you from getting to your favorite vacation spot on time every summer!
   

Traffic view with Incident Info open:


MapQuest Traffic provides exceptional coverage in over 100 metro areas. So, try it out for your own daily driving needs and let us know what you think. To find out more about MapQuest Traffic and other cool new features, check out Exploring MapQuest!

Our new interface lets you easily plan and reorder trips with up to 10 stops. Here's a quick glance on how to use the multi-point routing features:

First off, generate a route by entering two locations in the directions form, then click "Get Directions".

Select "Add Another Stop to Your Route" in the section below your written directions right above your map. Type in the business name and/or location in the two boxes in the tan section. You can use this tool to add locations for up to 10 stops to your route.

Your route map and directions will show each segment with stops designated by letters A, B, C, etc.

You can collapse or expand the text view each segment in your written directions by clicking on the arrow beside the start of each segment label.

To edit locations or remove points along your route, click the "Edit" and "Remove" buttons located to the right of each stop in your text directions.

You can also use the "Move up" and "Move Down" tools to reorder your stops in your route.

In the next post, we'll describe improvements to our printer friendly pages and how you can customize what you print to take on the road!