Updated INRIX Traffic App Offers Thanksgiving Travelers New Time Savers

KIRKLAND, Wash., Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- While INRIX's Thanksgiving Traffic Forecast shows Americans will encounter a third less traffic on the roads this year compared to 2010, drivers will still encounter significant delays on Wednesday afternoon.

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As commuters join holiday travelers on the roads as they try to get out of town, INRIX is launching several new time-saving, holiday traffic-busting features for its popular INRIX Traffic App for iPhone.  New INRIX Traffic app features debuting today include:

• See More Traffic for More Roads:  With INRIX's expanded traffic on arterials, travelers can see at-a-glance if it's faster to take side streets or stay on the highway with traffic information that extends beyond highways and interstates covering more than 500K miles of arterials and city streets now available nationwide.  With the ability to see more traffic on more local roads, INRIX Traffic gives travelers with door-to-door coverage that makes getting to Grandma's house a snap.
• Live Traffic Alerts: Up to the minute, location specific pop-up alerts similar to live sports scores and weather updates available on the iPhone today.  Drivers receive live traffic alerts based on their location and personal preferences.  INRIX Traffic owners can now customize alerts based on proximity and incident type to ensure traffic alerts are specific to their route.  Better details on incidents including severity and time to clear help drivers make smarter decisions.

In addition to the new features highlighted above, INRIX also announced the app now supports eight languages adding Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Hungarian and Dutch.

"INRIX Traffic makes getting to Grandma's house easier than pie," said Kevin Foreman, INRIX Vice President of Mobile Applications.  "Nothing is more stressful than being late for holiday gatherings because you're stuck in traffic.  With our new iPhone release, we make it easier than ever find the fastest route over the holidays and all year long."

Thanksgiving Traffic Forecast

While INRIX is predicting a up to a third less traffic over the Thanksgiving holiday this year compared to 2010, drivers will still face up to a 20 percent increase in travel times on the Wednesday, November 23rd afternoon commute.  Travelers leaving for their holiday weekend combined with commuters heading home from work will result in the evening rush hour peaking an hour earlier than normal with traffic congestion building on the nation's worst traffic corridors starting at 2 p.m. with the average trip taking up to 20 percent longer than normal.   In a recently published report powered by INRIX traffic data, the Texas Transportation Institute's 2011 Congested Corridors Report identified the following stretches of road in key cities nationwide as among the Top 40 Worst Afternoon commutes (3-7 p.m.) and ones to avoid during Wednesday's Thanksgiving getaway:

• Los Angeles' CA-110 or 'the 110' (Ranked #1): A 3.1 mile stretch of the Harbor Fwy/CA-110 NB from the Santa Monica Fwy to Stadium Way where drivers experience 750K hours of delay each year.  In total, 4 of the Top 5 Worst Evening Commute Corridors were in Los Angeles including #s 2 & 3 I-405 NB, #4  CA-110 SB
• New York's Van Wyck Expy (Ranked #18):  A 6.2 mile stretch of the Van Wyck Expy/I-678 SB from the Horace Harding Expy to Linden Blvd where drivers experience over 200K hours of delay each year.  Other traffic hotspots to avoid Wednesday afternoon include Van Wyck Expy/I-678 NB from Belt Pkwy. to Main St. (#28), I-278 WB from New York Ave to Slosson Ave (#29) and I-278 WB from Northern Blvd to the Prospect Expy (#35).
• San Francisco's I-80 EB (Ranked #5): A 13 mile stretch of the Eastshore Fwy/I-80 EB/I-580 WB from Cypress St. to University Ave. where drivers experience 419K hours of delay each year.  I-80 EB (Bay Bridge) from US-101 to Treasure Island Rd. (#9) and CA-24 WB from Saint Stephens Dr. to the Caldecott Tunnel (32) also causes significant delays on the afternoon commute.
• Chicago's Stevenson Expy (Ranked #23): A 5.7 mile stretch of I-55 SB from the State St. to Pulaski Rd. where drivers experience 300K hours of annual delay.
• Houston's I-10 EB (Ranked #11): A 4.4 mile stretch of I-10 EV from TC Jester Blvd to McKee St. where drivers experience 356K hours of annual delay.  Other traffic hotspots to avoid Wednesday afternoon include US-59 NB from Buffalo Speedway to I-45 (#13), and I-45 SB (Gulf Fwy) from Dumble St. to I-610 (#29)
• Dallas-Ft. Worth's TX-360 SB (Ranked #15): A 3 mile stretch of the TX-360 SB from Post N Paddock St. to Division St. where drivers experience an annual delay of 329K hours.  

INRIX Traffic is a free app that provides real-time traffic information and traffic forecasts covering more than 1.1 million miles of highways and city streets in cities across North America – twice the amount of roads compared to any other traffic app.  Powered by the same company leading automakers like Ford, Audi and Mercedes rely on for traffic information, INRIX Traffic is the only app that combines real-time, "crowd-sourced" traffic information from more than 30 million connected vehicles and devices with insight from hundreds of public and private sources to reliably deliver current and future traffic conditions.  

INRIX Traffic is available as a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the Apple App Store here.  More information also can be found at www.inrixtraffic.com.

About INRIX

INRIX® is a leading global provider of traffic information and 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 leverage the largest crowd-sourced traffic community in the world to aggregate and enhance traffic-related information from hundreds of public and private sources, including traditional road sensors and the company's unique network of more than 40 million connected vehicles and devices. INRIX delivers highly accurate real-time and historical traffic information today for 30 countries worldwide. To experience the traffic technology revolution behind the next generation of navigation and location-based service applications, visit www.inrix.com

SOURCE INRIX