Tomtom Traffic has major upgrade

[Uriel]

In the last few days Tomtom launched their Traffic 8.0 service. Most significantly it now includes incidents due to weather related delays and they have incorporated road closures reported by users into the live traffic service (rather than just mapshare).

The update should include all devices and apps with a Live Traffic service - so any Tomtom Live device, Tomtom and Tomtom Go! phone apps, Sygic and Route 66 Navigate.

Tomtom devices with mapshare can report closures directly. Also anyone with a Tomtom account can report closures via the Tomtom mapshare website here: http://www.tomtom.com/mapshare/tools/

In my experience, Tomtom's traffic was already far and away the best live traffic service (closely followed by Google with everyone else trailing), with its only real failing being road closures off the strategic highway network (motorways and major A roads). If this works as intended it should be a massive improvement.

The following is quoted from a Tomtom employee on their forums.

Hi all,



Some time ago we announced (link) that we will start using real-time weather information to calculate faster routes.

This is part of TomTom Traffic 8, which was released last Thursday.



TomTom Traffic 8 will include the following features:



• Weather-related delay messages
• Additional closed road messages



There is no need to activate anything on the device, the new feautures will appear automatically where relevant after the launch date.



Weather-related delay messages:
•TomTom recognises bad weather can affect traffic flow and cause delays even though currently the delays might not be considered severe enough to be classed as a jam due to heavy traffic.
•With TomTom Traffic 8, in addition to the incident messages previously available for heavy traffic congestion, closed roads, road works etc, incident messages will now also be published where delays are currently being observed in areas of bad weather.
•TomTom is using ‘precipitation’ data – so this will include rain and snow.

Examples of how these messages will appear on various devices:













Additional closed road messages:
• TomTom now incorporates the community input intelligence from Map Share (on device) and Map Share Reporter (online) where closed roads are reported by drivers
• In addition to contributing to map updates, these closures are also now used as a source in the real-time traffic information





Which devices will get this update?

All TomTom devices/apps with a (LIVE) traffic subscription:

• Car navigation devices
• TomTom smartphone navigation apps (Apple iOS and Android)
• In-built devices



Launch:

All live traffic countries will have additional closed road messages.


The following countries will have weather-related delay messages:
o UK
o Ireland
o Germany
o France
o Spain
o Belgium
o Netherlands
o Norway
o Sweden
o Denmark
o Finland
o United States



More countries will be supported in future releases.



Drive safe!

 

[dangermouse425]

Nice one, thanks for sharing. It reminds me, I should really plug in my TomTom and upgrade it.

 

[unrealrocks]

Will be interesting to see how much this improves the already great reporting. I regularly find Tomtom directing me a far more efficient route. Recently both my boss and I left our Camberley office for our Gatwick office at exactly the same time, I arrived 40mins earlier than him (albeit after taking some hilariously complex route taking in the best Surrey had to offer, LOL) using Tomtom rather than his in-built BMW nav.

 

[Uriel]

Tomtom was already superb for traffic flow on most roads and road closures on Motorways and Primary A Roads (including slip roads and roundabouts). If you live in one of the few local authority areas that supplies them with closure info (TfL and a few others) it was great pretty much anywhere.

A lot of local authorities don't supply closure info to Tomtom. In these areas closure information on anything from A Roads (ones not controlled by the HA, Traffic Scotland or Traffic Wales) downwards was pretty hit and miss. There was an closure detection algorithm but it wasn't reliable - especially in remote areas where mobile reception was patchy.

As far as the UK is concerned, Google and Inrix (XD Traffic - not their TMC offerings) are the only other traffic info providers that consistently give traffic info for B Roads downwards. Practically everything else gives no traffic info on lesser roads so there was a good chance it'll send you out of the motorway frying pan into the congested city centre fire. Tomtom can theoretically detect traffic flow speed on any road so tends to avoid this scenario.

 

[Uriel]

More upgrades for Tomtom Traffic coming - see below.

It's just as well for Tomtom because they've got a fight on their hands now. Google's traffic flow coverage is pretty much on par with Tomtom these days. Tomtom will still 'spot' alternative routes that Google Navigation fails to take into account, parcularly when you're further from your destination - so IMO it's still a better traffic avoidance tool but there's not much in it. Google has its advantages - mainly that it's less likey to send you on random side roads to avoid traffic than Tomtom. Plus Google's incoporation of incident data from Waze and other sources now means they are trading blows in terms of closure coverage. Google of course has the big advantage of providing a free service.

The Waze app is much improved too but I've found the data connection too inconsistent to be reliable. Traffic flow keeps dropping out near me during rush hour, which isn't what you want. Waze already has turn-based traffic conditions, which Tomtom will be getting from April.

So my current summary of the UK Live Traffic State of Play is:

Best Traffic Flow Data: Google = Tomtom
(Honourable Mention - Waze when it works properly)

Best Road Closure Data:
Inrix & RAC (Inrix used by Garmin / Navigon and it currently gets better and more timely data on minor A Road closures than Tomtom / Google).

Best Routing Around Traffic Incidents
Tomtom
(Honourable Mentions - Waze when it works properly - Google when within about 5 miles of destination and if you don't want to get sent by random side roads)

My current recommendation for the best PNDs and navigation apps for traffic avoidance:

- If you want to avoid traffic jams at any cost and good data on Motorway and Trunk Road Closures - Tomtom Go PND, Tomtom Go App or Route 66 Navigate app (which use Tomtom Data) and have your car radio set to auto traffic programming for other closures that Tomtom might miss.

- If you want to avoid traffic jams but still stick to main roads where possible - Google Navigation. And have your car radio set to auto traffic programming for other closures that Google might miss.

- If you want the best info on closures of Motorways, Trunk Roads and non-trunk A roads - Garmin with digital or Live Traffic or Navigon. They use Inrix Data (caveat - once you drop down to B roads and below with these you're on your own - no traffic flow data at all so you might just get diverted straight into a jam).

http://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...-Traffic-Sees-Major-Improvements-Total-Number

TomTom Traffic Sees Major Improvements and Total Number of Countries with TomTom Traffic Hits 50 Globally
February 09, 2016 01:55 AM Eastern Standard Time
AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TomTom (TOM2) today announced significant enhancements to its TomTom Traffic service – benefiting drivers using TomTom personal navigation devices (PNDs) and navigation apps, as well as customers who have licensing agreements with TomTom. The improvements are being revealed at the same time as TomTom announces a geo-expansion milestone for its traffic service. With the addition of Indonesia and Slovenia, TomTom Traffic is now available in 50 countries globally.

Major enhancements made to TomTom Traffic include Turn-Dependent Jam Information, Dynamic Speed Limit Messages, Weather Influenced Predictions and Road Condition Monitoring after Rain or Snow. The improvements will be rolled-out from April 2016.

Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Head of Traffic at TomTom, said: “At TomTom, we work tirelessly to ensure that we deliver a leading Traffic service. The major enhancements that we’re announcing today will improve the driving experience for people using our award-winning PNDs and apps, as well as drivers who are using a product that is powered by TomTom Traffic through a licensing agreement. We like to keep things simple, so drivers won’t notice many of the new features that are running in the background, but we do believe that they’ll notice that their journeys come with fewer headaches, as well as being faster.”

Overview of New Features

Turn-Dependent Traffic Information

Congestion at some junctions may only affect drivers taking a certain turn (or travelling straight on). The new enhancement automatically detects the different ‘turn dependent’ traffic situations at junctions and enables the navigation system to only take into account jams specific to the driver’s turn intention on their specific route.

Dynamic Speed Limit Messages

Agencies responsible for managing the road networks deploy roadside or overhead message signs in order to dynamically change the speed limit. This is done to reduce the speed of traffic during busy periods, so that drivers are moving more safely and in a more consistent flow. TomTom Traffic will automatically monitor highways with variable speed signs, and displays them to the driver.

Weather Influenced Predictions

Heavy rain or snowfall can have a significant impact on the speed of traffic. TomTom Traffic will use advanced weather information with other influencing factors, such as severity and tendency, of any existing jams, to further improve the accuracy of the expected lifetime of congestion, and future speeds on the road.

Road Condition Monitoring after Rain or Snow

Traffic conditions may continue to be affected by delays for some time after snow has stopped falling, if there is snow lying on the road. TomTom Traffic will monitor areas affected by weather-related delays, and continue to display relevant delay messages until the road returns to normal. This ensures that delays can be taken into account with regards best routing and ETA information.

Also announced today is the launch of TomTom’s world-class traffic service in Indonesia and Slovenia. TomTom now provides accurate traffic information for highways, major roads and secondary roads in 50 countries. TomTom Traffic includes congestion forecasting, which indicates whether a jam is growing or dispersing, and estimates how long a delay will last.

“Traffic congestion is an issue for many cities around the world”, continues Schäfer, “and those in Indonesia and Slovenia are no different. As well as hitting a major milestone in the roll-out of TomTom Traffic globally, the launch of TomTom Traffic in these two new countries gives their drivers, their automotive industries, and governments, a concrete way to tackle traffic congestion. Our aim is to help drivers get there faster, and support governments to better manage traffic flow.”

You can find out more about TomTom Traffic here.

 

[Imy]

Thanks for the info - I use the TomTom app on my iPhone regularly for my drive to work to avoid traffic. The only time I've been disappointed with it recently was when it warned me of a 2 minute delay on my preferred route which I decided was acceptable but when I got to the jam it kept revising that number upwards (eventually took ~15 minutes to get through it).

 

[geekman]

I'd be interested to see if it's as good as Waze, which I've found vastly superior to anything else in terms of traffic monitoring and rerouting.

 

[grudas]

I found nokia here maps to be my favorite till now, I'll give tomtom a shot!

waze is very good too but I need speed warnings..

 

[geekman]

Do you mean speed warnings or speed camera warnings? Waze is far better than anything else for speed camera warnings - the live reporting of speed traps works incredibly well.

 

[Uriel]

I'd be interested to see if it's as good as Waze, which I've found vastly superior to anything else in terms of traffic monitoring and rerouting.

When waze works it's very good indeed. I've been doing a bit of driving using both Waze and Tomtom for comparison.

A few points - Waze tends to show more traffic jams than Tomtom but many are 'false positives'. Tomtom's a bit more timely in clearing jams when they disappear.

Also I found that Waze traffic flow would sometimes fail to show up during rush hours (all those pointless little Elgin incidents would still show though). Tomtom's usually pretty consistent and reliable (at least the app or PNDs with bluetooth connections to phones - Tomtom PNDs with a built in data modem use old Vodafone GPRS technology and that system has a nasty habit of falling over at busy periods). Maybe I just used Waze at a bad time when it happened to have a problem with its traffic data.

When I first used Waze (maybe 2010 or 2011) it was nowhere near as good as Tomtom Traffic because of a lack of users and hence traffic probe data (and large swathes of the map weren't properly populated). That's changed and it's a very close call now. But then - Waze is 100% free and that counts for a lot. With Tomtom on Android you just get 50 miles a month free and have to subscribe over that.

A major advantage that Google and Waze have over Tomtom is the speed of map updates. Tomtom's maps are updated quarterly and are therefore always about 3-6 months behind. Google and Waze update incrementally so changes make it to the live map much quicker. Tomtom have announced a change in their maps to a format that will be updated incrementally soon - I'd expect it to go live in the next couple of months.

Over the last few years, Tomtom have been so far ahead of everyone else for Live Traffic that I wouldn't have considered recommending an alternative. Waze and Google are really pushing them now. Hopefully with some real competition we might see some innovation.

Do you mean speed warnings or speed camera warnings? Waze is far better than anything else for speed camera warnings - the live reporting of speed traps works incredibly well.

Tomtom's speed cameras are about on par with Waze's They have live crowd sourced reporting too. In average speed camera zones it auto-tracks your average speed. What I like best about Tomtom's sytem is you have the option to have them reported all the time or turn off speed camera warnings unless you are actually speeding.

If it's speed warnings you need, Tomtom displays the speed limit (which is mostly right) and you can set it to warn you if you go x amount over the limit.

Thanks for the info - I use the TomTom app on my iPhone regularly for my drive to work to avoid traffic. The only time I've been disappointed with it recently was when it warned me of a 2 minute delay on my preferred route which I decided was acceptable but when I got to the jam it kept revising that number upwards (eventually took ~15 minutes to get through it).

Tomtom on IOS runs on the old Nav3 software. The android version was updated to Nav4 (same as newer Tomtom PNDs) last year and existing users were given a 3 year subscription to the new app. The live traffic is broadly the same but it used to look for a 3 minute saving to avoid traffic, plus incidents would be considered one-at a time. It looks for 1 minute and considers them together now so the app is a little more willing to route around traffic. Conversely it also means it's more likely to route you around very minor incidents.

Just a caveat though - Nav4 lacks mapshare (which would let you edit your map yourself and share them with others) and IMO that's a major omission. You have to wait for Tomtom to approve any changes now.

Regarding jams growing - well someone's got to get there first! Hopefully you being in the growing jam will have contributed to the traffic data for others.

 

[grudas]

Do you mean speed warnings or speed camera warnings? Waze is far better than anything else for speed camera warnings - the live reporting of speed traps works incredibly well.

speed warnings, speed cameras are fine but I don't speed due to the fact that I need to stay under 6 pts for another year and a bit

 

[Robdav]

route 66 user here so happy to see an uplift in the tomtom traffic feed

 

[geekman]

Interesting - I guess a lot of it is down to where you use it as well - some devices will be better in some areas than others. In London and France I find Waze is best, although admittedly I haven't tried a tomtom for a year or so.

 

[Uriel]

route 66 user here so happy to see an uplift in the tomtom traffic feed

Yes - I'm still very fond of Route 66. One or two niggles in that map updates are less frequent than Tomtom. Also - it's a bit more aggressive in it's shortcut finding when routing - so it has a wee tendancy to unnecessarily use random back roads when Tomtom would stay on the main route (even before traffic is taken into account). Although the traffic data is provided by Tomtom it's sligtly different - and it seems to throw up more 'false positive' traffic indicents than Tomtom.

It has a few major advantages over Tomtom though. One is Tomtom's Live Traffic stops at a radius of around 80 miles. Route 66 just keeps on going. I've seen it plan around closures 150 miles from the point of origin. The other is you can point to any point of your route on the map and tell the app to avoid it. That's very handy for the closures missed by Tomtom traffic and avoiding part of the route in Tomtom involves a convoluted text based menu. Also Route 66 tells you when it's avoiding traffic indicents, which is perversely satisfying. Tomtom either does it in the background (so you don't know it's happened) or more recently has implemented a 'Decide by steering' (DBS) feature. To actually make use of DBS you need to watch the Tomtom app like a Hawk as it gives little audible indication of it. I personally prefer to rely on voice guidance as much as possible and to keep my eyes on the road.

Interesting - I guess a lot of it is down to where you use it as well - some devices will be better in some areas than others. In London and France I find Waze is best, although admittedly I haven't tried a tomtom for a year or so.

Waze or Google will usually be better than tomtom wherever there have been a lot of recent changes to road layout (typical for much of London). Tomtom are currently much slower to process updates but I'm hoping that will improve when the incremental map updates go live. Waze is very reliant on the number of users. There are plenty in London. It was rubbish up north a couple of years ago but has caught up a lot now.

 

[Tom_ed1987]

I only use Google for my traffic info source now. It seemed to always be just a bit more accurate than tomtom (this was approx 1 year ago when I regularly drove M40/M25/M3)

 

[Uriel]

If it were just down to accuracy of traffic info, I'd be pretty happy with Google. It's the routing engine that's not so good - it seems to have a pathological hatred of local roads early in a journey and suddenly discovers them as you get closer to your destination.

Waze, TomTom and Route 66 are all much better in that respect. They all seem to find the same sort of sensible cut throughs and short cuts that a local driver would use. When I'm using Google in an area I know well I can usually think of better routes than it uses.