Google Maps Tailgates Yahoo, Microsoft With Real-Time Traffic Info

Google Maps has caught up with Yahoo and Microsoft in adding live traffic reporting for the United States to their online mapping service. Google Operating System spotted the change today (and Google now has the official word up here). To see the traffic yourself, just go to Google Maps and click on the new "Traffic" […]

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Google Maps has caught up with Yahoo
and Microsoft in adding live traffic reporting for the United States to their
online mapping service.

Google Operating System

spotted
the change today (and Google now has the official word up here). To see the traffic yourself, just go to Google
Maps and click on the new "Traffic" button that you’ll see in the upper
right-hand corner of the map page, right before the "Map" and "Satellite" and
"Hybrid" buttons.

Pushing that button will make traffic light icons show up, like this:


Google Maps Traffic

Everywhere you see an icon, that’s where you can get real-time traffic
information.

Here is a screen capture of

New York City
traffic from Google Maps:


Google Traffic - Manhattan, NY - Google Maps (20070228)

The green color symbolizes more than 50 miles per hour; the yellow color
symbolizes 25-50 miles per hour; the red color symbolizes less than 25 miles per
hour; and the gray color symbolizes that no data available.

Google is playing serious catch-up in adding this information to its mapping
service. Yahoo

began
offering live traffic data for the United States on
Yahoo Maps back on December 15, 2004, over
two years ago.

To see traffic at Yahoo Map, zoom out to the US "country" level, then click
on the "Live Traffic" button you’ll see at the top of the map. Places with
traffic conditions being reported will appear. Unfortunately, Yahoo doesn’t
appear to have more help information about getting real-time traffic that we can
point you at.

Microsoft

added
live traffic on May 23, 2006. To see traffic at
Microsoft Live Search Maps, zoom out to see
the entire US, then click on the "Traffic" link above the map. Stoplight icons
will appear where information is available.

Ask Maps now remains the only major search
engine not to have life traffic data. But they do have walking directions, for
those who find the traffic is too much!

How about live traffic on the move? Google has offered live traffic data on
their mobile version of Google Maps
since July
25, 2006, and Windows Live also has traffic on their mobile version. More on
that in Danny’s recent post,
Ironically, You Need A
Map To Find Google & Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Map Apps
. The latest
version of Yahoo Go also appears to have
live traffic info.


About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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