Your cars new BFF
Ah, winter. Those cold, dark mornings aren’t exactly conducive to getting your arse into gear and getting to work on time, are they? If you’re anything like me you dither around in the morning trying to keep warm and telling yourself “just another minute” before forcing yourself out the door to go to work. And then, as if as punishment from some time-keeping God, you hit traffic. Bad traffic. Or, if you’re bussing, the bus whizzes past you before you get to the bus stop and the next one is 20 minutes away. However with the right tools on board your iPhone, this reality needn’t be yours.
As we all know, your iPhone comes equipped with Google Maps and using GPS it can plan your route and track your progress along the way. But throw into the mix one of the many New Zealand traffic apps available on the App Store and you have not just a route but an indication of how busy the route is likely to be. Just type the word ‘traffic’ into the App Store and you’ll find a plethora of apps that utilize feeds from Land Transport’s numerous webcams all around the country. I picked NZ Traffic by GivUsADeal at random and for a free app this delivers the goods.
NZ Traffic
The app allows you to pick your city, then gives you a list of available cameras. The pictures are pretty clear and take up the entire screen when in landscape mode. Updated every few minutes they really do give a good indication of road conditions. As I said, there are plenty of alternative apps and we’d love to know which ones you are using so let us know in the comments.
For bussers in Christchurch, you simply cannot be without Metroinfo from kiwi developer Orsome. This app allows you to find your nearest bus stop and save the ones you use most regularly to your favourites. Next, pick the route number you use and Metroinfo will tell you (with amazing accuracy) how many minutes until the next bus arrives. Now you will know when to leave the house (and whether you need to walk or run)! I am not aware of any similar apps for other cities in NZ but let me know if I’m wrong.
Metroinfo
Do you have any other time-saving travel tips you’d like to share? Hit the comments and happy commuting!
Shame as there are only a few cities for this app at moment !!
(psychrn has made 131 comments)
I’m interested in Mobile Maps Australia and New Zealand: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=319361043&mt=8
It looks okay but NZ$85 is a pretty hefty price. Has anyone tried it out?
I’m curious if TomTom or Navman have plans on releasing iPhone apps? Maybe iphonenewzealand.co.nz could do a little journalism and see if they can get comment from the companies. I’d hold out for their offerings before buying Mobile Maps as I think they’d probably include more bells and whistles. Anyone have any opinions on that?
(moviemichael has made 63 comments)
Oops, a little googling turns up that TomTom announced at WWDC that they’d be releasing an iPhone version. http://iphone.tomtom.com/
Unfortunately it looks like it may require some proprietary attachment that will probably cost a lot.
(moviemichael has made 63 comments)
@moviemichael — funny you should ask about Sygic, we actually have a review of that coming up in the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled!
Steve
That’s great news. I look forward to it Steve. I’m also wondering if anyone has played around with any of the flight tracking apps and how they work with New Zealand flights (to, from and within).
(moviemichael has made 63 comments)
@Matt45 – it’s a DLO Ventmount. Review coming soon.
hi, great site!, it looks like the car holder you have there for your phone doesn't stick onto the windscreen, does it clip onto the vent or something? if so where did you find it?
(matt45 has made 3 comments)