Yahoo adds traffic information to maps service - includes Cleveland

Just posted on "The Industry Standard", Yahoo posts timely roadwork, accident and traffic speed overlays on their maps for many cities, including Cleveland [1] - soon to be offered for other wireless devices... one less reason to watch the silly local morning news and listen to lame drive-time radio

Yahoo adds traffic information to maps service

By Juan Carlos Perez

Yahoo Inc. is adding local traffic information to its maps service,
including roadwork and accident reports as well as the approximate
speed at which traffic is proceeding along specific roads.

The service, to be launched officially Thursday as part of Yahoo Maps (http://maps.yahoo.com [2]),
will offer accident reports and road construction information for about
70 U.S. metropolitan areas. The service will also provide driving speed
information for about 22 of those areas.

The traffic information is layered on top of a map at the
user's request. Icons are used to indicate accidents or construction,
while color codes are used for the speed information, Yahoo executives
said.

A Yahoo partner whose name executives declined to disclose
aggregates traffic information from a variety of sources, including
road sensors, traffic cameras and local police and transportation
departments. Yahoo packages and presents the information to its users.

To enhance and extend the service in the future, Yahoo plans to
provide it via wireless devices and to add the capability of launching
alerts and updates, and of offering users alternate driving routes,
Yahoo executives said. Offering the service abroad is also a future
possibility.

The traffic service is integrated with Yahoo's general Web
search engine, so that if a user enters the query "Philadelphia
traffic," a link to the traffic information on Yahoo Maps is provided
at the top of the search results. A similar integration exists with
Yahoo Local, the Yahoo search service that lets users find local
businesses. Yahoo plans to further integrate the traffic information
service with other parts of its online network.

Adding this traffic information to its arsenal of services is a
way for Yahoo to give users another reason to visit Yahoo Maps and its
other online properties, executives said.