Free INRIX Traffic App Helps Drivers with Real-Time View of Traffic on Alternative Routes and Throughout Downtown Seattle

KIRKLAND, Wash., Oct. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- INRIX®, a leading provider of traffic information and driving services, is forecasting that commuters will experience up to twice the normal delay during rush hour during the 9-day Alaskan Way Viaduct closure starting Friday evening.  INRIX predicts that traffic flow will slow to such a crawl during rush hour that commuters will be able to ride their bike faster along I-5 and likely walk through the Denny, Mercer and Downtown corridors than they could drive it.

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"While we may not immediately see the mass gridlock everyone is expecting Monday morning, the closure of the viaduct will cause delays, lengthen travel times and hurt downtown businesses," said Jim Bak, Director of Community Relations, INRIX.  "In our experience monitoring similar events in Seattle and across the country, the degrees to which people change their travel patterns based on DOTs and media's efforts to get the word out make predicting the impact of such events difficult."

Historically, INRIX has observed drivers typically change their patterns at the outset of these traffic events choosing to work from home and limiting discretionary trips outside of their neighborhoods.  However, commuters typically return to their usual routines once they see that traffic conditions are not as bad as advertised creating a dynamically changing set of conditions over the duration of these traffic events.

"It's quite possible we'll see up to 20 percent of the traffic disappear on Monday as commuters heed the guidance from media and our transportation officials," added Bak.  "That said the best guidance for a commuter who has no choice but brave the roads is to take advantage of traffic web sites and mobile apps to get the latest information before they head out on their commute."

INRIX offers Seattle commuters a free app for their iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry device that provides them an up-to-minute view of traffic conditions on more than 8,000 miles of roads throughout the Seattle Metropolitan area and the Eastside, north to Everett and south to Tacoma.  Uniquely helpful to drivers compared to other traffic or navigation apps, INRIX Traffic covers all the major arterials and city streets including downtown and parts of West Seattle to help drivers see what conditions are like on alternate routes as well as main travel corridors I-5, I-405, I-90 and Hwy 520.

Additional features of INRIX Traffic benefitting local drivers during the Viaduct closure includes:

• Comparative Traffic provides an instant view of daily traffic hot spots indicating you where conditions are substantially worse or better than normal along your route.  A simple map interface shows you in real-time where traffic is worse than normal (black) or better than normal (light blue) helping drivers better gauge travel times.
• Real-Time Insights into Accidents, Construction, and Other Traffic-Impacting Events.  INRIX Traffic is the only app that informs drivers of major sporting events, summer festivals, concerts and other unique local events and their impact on traffic.  
• One-tap Community Reporting.  Besides real-time traffic information throughout the region, the app empowers its community of drivers with the ability to easily view and alert others to changes in traffic conditions.  With just one tap, community members also can alert INRIX to slower than reported traffic speeds immediately correcting the traffic conditions shown in the app for the indicated road.
• Traffic Forecasts help drivers plan ahead seeing how conditions are predicted to change in the next 12 hours.  Only INRIX analyzes real-time and historical data as well as other traffic-impacting factors such as weather, accidents, construction and local events to provide reliable predictions.

Worst ViaDoom Travel Corridors

• Drivers can expect the worst roads and bottlenecks to be much worse than normal during the Viaduct closure.  Traffic hotspots to avoid include:
  • Key arterials through downtown, particularly 3rd and 4th Avenues.  Rerouting of Hwy 99 buses combined with additional vehicle traffic will increase travel times significantly through these Corridors.  (typical speed at rush hour is 15 mph)
  • The West Seattle Bridge.  While residents of West Seattle have little choice but to endure the added delays, travelers who don't have a need to travel between downtown and West Seattle should avoid the Bridge.  Residents are encouraged to limit discretionary trips from West Seattle to Downtown and the Eastside.  These residents are better served to patron local West Seattle businesses during the closure vs. venturing outside of the neighborhood during rush hours.
  • I-5 through downtown in both directions.  As the worst traffic corridor in the Seattle Metropolitan area where traffic tends to crawl for 50 hours a week at less than 20 mph, this road will experience significantly longer delays.
  • With the closure of the Broad St. exit SB off of Hwy 99, expect the "Mercer Mess"  (typical speeds of 15 mph) to be even worse than normal during rush hours as drivers are diverted over to I-5 and through Downtown.  
  • Drivers also will experience increased traffic on Western/Elliott Ave, 15 Ave NW as well as Denny Way (typical speeds of 14 mph) as drivers divert to these roads in efforts to avoid delays Southbound on Hwy 99 heading into the closure.

To learn more about how to save time with INRIX Traffic and find easy links for downloading from the Apple, Amazon, Android, Windows and Blackberry app stores visit www.inrixtraffic.com. For real-time updates on traffic hotspots, travel times and alternative routes from 7-9:30 a.m. and 4:00-7:30 p.m. next week, follow @INRIX on Twitter  Viadoom or search #Viadoom.

About INRIX

INRIX® is a leading global provider of real-time traffic information and connected driving services in the car, online and on mobile devices. With more than 200 customers and partners including Audi AG, ADAC, ANWB,  the BBC, Ford Motor Company, I-95 Coalition, MapQuest, Microsoft, NAVIGON, Nissan, O2, Tele Atlas, Telmap, TeleNav, Toyota and Vodafone, INRIX's real-time traffic and traffic forecasts help drivers save time every day.

INRIX Traffic Services apply patented data analytics technologies for aggregating and enhancing traffic-related information crowd-sourced from connected vehicles, devices and sensors on the road network.  INRIX operates the largest traffic network in the world intelligently analyzing over a billion of real-time data points a day to power its traffic information and customers' breakthrough navigation applications. The company offers premium traffic information and connected driving services today in 30 countries worldwide. To experience the traffic technology revolution behind the next generation of navigation and location-based service applications, visit www.INRIX.com.

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