Archive for the ‘road’ tag

Militants kill burn workers in south Thailand police

Suspected Islamic militants shot dead three Thai workers and set their bodies on fire in the middle of road Thursday in Thailand’s troubled south, police said.

TeleNav – Insight into GPS Use

Telenav has researched what people are using their service for – where people are going, what they are looking for and how they are battling traffic. The data was collected anonymously from their applications and on-phone navigation system. What’s the most searched for Point of Interest? Which city needs to re-route around traffic? What’s the most searched for food?

The data is fun to look through and it’s not a surprise to see the results – like Pizza being the most popular search for food, WalMart being the most popular Point of Interest searched for, and maybe not a big surprise that Los Angeles is figuring out how to get around traffic most frequently. The data is a fun read.

More on TeleNav and their navigation solutions at Telenav

Full press release after the jump…

TeleNav, one of the largest navigation services providers with more than 13 million subscribers, today released usage data* that suggests users depend on GPS navigation for much more than getting from point A to point B. The data indicates that while customers in various cities depend on some GPS features more than others, when it comes to searching out nearby businesses on the road, drivers across the country seem to be in agreement on their favorites.

An analysis of searches conducted by TeleNav users in December 2009 indicated that Wal-Mart topped the list as the number one U.S. business TeleNav customers sought out while using their GPS service. Starbucks took a close second, proving Americans’ obsession with morning lattes and mochaccinos is still quite strong. Two more large retailers, Target and Best Buy, took the third and fourth spots respectively, while Bank of America rounded out the top five most searched destinations in the country.

TeleNav data from all GPS point of interest (POI) searches for the entire 2009 year indicates that drivers living in or visiting some U.S. cities need more assistance locating local hotspots than in others. Los Angeles took the number one position as the city where most GPS searches occurred in 2009. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area followed in a close second, indicating that while things may be bigger in Texas, it doesn’t always mean they’re easier to find. Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, respectively, rounded out the top five U.S. cities where most GPS searches took place.

TeleNav’s GPS search data also sheds some light on the cuisine preferences of American drivers. Search data from December 2009 showed that pizza is the top food item searched for by customers using TeleNav’s GPS applications. Residents of Chicago led the way in GPS searches for pizza while residents of New York City were most likely to search for the nation’s second preferred cuisine type, Chinese food. Rounding out the top five of America’s most searched food types are burgers, American food and Mexican food, respectively.

“Every month our users are conducting millions of searches while using GPS navigation applications. This data provides a very interesting look into the locations people across the country are searching for while on the road,” said Sal Dhanani, co-founder and vice president, products and marketing for TeleNav. “In addition to searches, our customers are relying on our products to complete millions of trips each month. The data we’ve collected from these trips has helped us identify the features that are most relied on by our users and provides an intriguing look into how GPS usage differs across the country.”

While users in every state depended on GPS guidance to travel, TeleNav’s usage data for the entire 2009 year indicates that residents of Maryland were the most frequent users of GPS guidance, using the technology for twice as many trips per month than the national average. Completing the top five areas with residents relying heavily on GPS navigation to guide them are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and California.

Traffic remains an issue that many American drivers deal with on a daily basis. To help ease the stress of traffic, TeleNav provides users with real-time traffic information and the option to route around traffic incidents. As one of the nation’s most traffic-plagued cities, it may not be surprising that TeleNav users in Los Angeles chose to use GPS navigation to re-route around traffic more than any other city in the nation. Other top five cities where drivers preferred to use GPS to get around traffic instead of sitting in gridlock included Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and Atlanta, respectively.

Because TeleNav products are connected, users receive real-time information such as searching for gas stations based on current prices. Data from December 2009 indicates that residents of Phoenix may be the most cost conscious drivers in America, as residents of that city averaged more Gas by Price searches than any other city. In a close second, residents of San Antonio were also looking to save a buck at the pump through Gas by Price searches. Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville, respectively, rounded out the top five cities with such economical drivers.

For more information, additional GPS usage rankings and downloadable graphics, visit www.telenav.com/about/pr-national-gps-usage

* National GPS usage data was collected anonymously from users of TeleNav GPS navigation products.

Bridge over troubled waters

The battle between the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) over who gets to build the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link seems to be going MMRDA’s way.

India mulling pull out from Afghanistan

India is looking at various options including paring down of the operations of its missions in Afghanistan in the wake of terror attacks on Indians there. Government is also planning to put all the Indians working in projects like power and road together to ensure their safety.

Fire breaks out in Ahmedabad mall

A major mishap was avoided after fire broke out in the restaurant of a prominent mall located on the Drive-in road of the city today, fire officials said, adding that there were no casualties.

First Test: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE

Number Cruncher: Does Best-in-Class Equal Best-on-Road?

Why Mumbai s traffic jams won t ease

The city’s buying cars faster than it’s building roads. In the last 58 years, the number of vehicles on Mumbai’s roads has increased 3,700 per cent while the city’s total road length has increased only 250 per cent, reports Zeeshan Shaikh.

3 die in two road accidents near JJ

Three men were killed in two separate road accidents near JJ Hospital in south Mumbai on Sunday night.

BEST bus crushes 22 yr old to death

A 22-year-old woman died when a speeding BEST bus hit her and crushed her its rear wheels as she was crossing the road at Malad on Monday morning.

Agencies should come together to fund link Centre

The Surface Transport Ministry at the Centre that lays down road transport policies has promised monetary support for the 22 km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) but wants state agencies to come together to implement the ambitious project, reports Ketaki Ghoge.

One dead in hit and run

An unidentified 35-year-old man was found dead on a road in north Delhi on Monday, police said.

Protest against road widening in Siri Fort

The students of Kamla Nehru College (KNC) along with residents of Siri Fort Institutional area, neighbouring Anand Lok and Gulmohar Park on Monday staged a silent protest against the government’s plan to widen the Siri Fort road and the adjacent August Kranti Marg ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Design Project Manager

Design Project Manager Randstad Middle East Riyadh Saudi Arabia Ref KP622-204 Randstad Middle East The Role The Role Managing the design and implementation of major road and highway projects both new build and rehabilitation Other essential duties will include client liaison bid preparation and business development Requirements Requirem

Two mishaps claim 14 lives in Andhra Pradesh

Fourteen persons including five children were killed and eight others sustained injuries in two different road accidents in Andhra Pradesh today.

TomTom – Fightin’ Words for 2010

TomTom had their earnings announcement recently, but buried in the text are a few clues for 2010 that offer a bit of insight into what’s up for the company. They announced that they will be looking at more accurate travel times and predictive traffic in some countries. They have been taking steps towards this for a long time.

1. TomTom launches MapShare – TomTom starts with getting more accurate maps by crowd sourcing map fixes.
2. TomTom Buys TeleAtlas – they now own their map source and start investing in more accurate maps.
3. TomTom Captures User data from their trips – Result is more real-world trip data; IQ Routes is born
4. TomTom Launches iPhone App – starts capturing travel time and traffic data
5. TomTom Announces iPhone App ver 1.3 – Live Traffic on the iPhone

In their earnings announcement TomTom said:

Traffic information is a key investment area for us, as we know that our technology can substantially enhance accuracy and coverage. We will bring innovative, new product propositions to the market this year, such as predictive traffic information, in a growing number of countries.”

It is unclear if TomTom will be using their partner Inrix for the data, or if they will be generating the information themselves through their network of GPS probes and historical information. It is not easy to do predictive traffic, as you need to understand historical speeds, as well as understand how accidents and the effects of those accidents and other effects like storms, large gatherings and special events can change traffic flow. Inrix has figured this out and also has very detailed coverage of secondary roadways in at least the US, and may offer similar quality capabilities in Europe where they have been making headway recently at data and client acquisition.

TomTom is also throwing down the gauntlet on the statement of quality:

“When it comes to location and navigation solutions, we are the only company in this industry fully focused on delivering an uncompromised consumer experience. By continuously enriching the granularity and completeness of our guidance solutions, such as by adding slope, lane and curve information, we differentiate what we can offer across the broad spectrum of our products and expand the available market.”

Sounds like fightin’ words to me. On top of that, I expect with that statement to see innovation in using additional map attributes to create new products this year. Back in 2007 when I went to visit TomTom, I rode in the TeleAtlas van and saw the future potential as they captured road signs, lane information and building image capture – all attributes that are used today in higher level navigation units with speed limit data, lane assist capability and in some cities 3-D drawings of buildings.

Back in 2007, TeleAtlas also talked about capturing information about lane position, and it seems like TomTom is positioning themselves to get into lane departure warnings too with their recent announcement. Never a dull moment in this field and ripe with innovation potential.

Kids in crime web Net help at hand

When Rahul Enrike (19) was arrested with his friends for snatching a chain from a woman on a Vasant Vihar road in south Delhi to buy an expensive gift for his girlfriend, it caught his ‘affluent’ family off guard, reports Vijaita Singh.

Metro s feeder buses off the road from today

If you depend on Metro feeder buses , look out for some other option — at least for a week. The erratic and unreliable buses will be off the road from Saturday.

No change in dates venue of marathon

Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Mike Hooper, said there would be no change in the dates and venue for the road cycling and marathon event for the 2010 Games, reports HT Correspondent.

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