Route Planners

Sat Nav Units Should Be More Up-To-Date

2008-07-10T12:00:00.002+01:00

I know the Government may have reduced some of the planned roads but there's still many being built and the sat nav companies can't keep up!

I run mine off a DVD in the car and have no idea how to update. It must be in the manual somewhere. But apparently there are loads of new roads in Loughborough as many sat nav users have found to their annoyance.

Apparently there are two different roads called New Ashby Road, which is fair enough, but they run parallel to each other and one of them is a cul-de-sac! You've got to laugh!

But its not funny when your the HGV driver which trusts his sat nav device and goes down a cul-de-sac hoping to get to the M1 and you've got to reverse all the way down with kids around.

It's about time road and town planners saw a bit of sense!

Transport For London Journey Planner Review

2008-05-10T15:15:00.003+01:00

I've found when I lived in London for a short while that its just not worth trying to drive anywhere that involved either the North or South Circular. This time of year you'll loose about a stone in weight before you get a couple of miles.

I may have been stuck in the tube a few times, but if you're travelling off-peak then it's often best to jump on the tube all walk.

So if you don't know already, we suggest the TFL website for planning your tube journey if you're going over a mile or so. If you're going less and not carrying anything, I suggest Walkit.

The TFL site is good as you can see the how long it'll take, if there's any delays, if there's no disabled access etc. You can also see micro maps of each station you'll pass through. But I'd like an overview map of where the route takes you under London. But hey, the maps they give you are pretty damn good - you just need to make sure you've got a colour printer!

I better check the TFL for a walking map. Next month I'm going to the Electric Birdcage bar in London for a night out and staying at the Travelodge Covent Garden. Let's see what the map is like ...

Well popping in the post codes is as easy as ... But it default to public transport. You have to choose "edit search options" to deselect the public transport options.

Walking it says it takes 17 minutes which is cool.

Route Planner Rating: 9/10

May Bank Holiday Traffic

2008-05-02T07:39:00.002+01:00

So the weather this May Bank Holiday looks a bit mixed - it'll be warm but wet in certain areas! This may have an effect on the traffic.

As I type the M6 is closed Northbound around Holmes Chapple. It's going to be a nightmare on the roads as per usual. But it may be worsend by the good weather today as many will try and take advantage and go today rather than leave it until Saturday morning.

The press agrees with me too. Here's some news resources:

Getaway drivers risk getting caught in the great Bank Holiday slowdown
Times Online
Parts of Britain will be blessed by warm and clement weather over the Bank Holiday weekend, but seeking it out will be as stressful as ever. ...

Bank holiday travel chaos to hit roads and rail
guardian.co.uk
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Thursday May 01 2008. It was last updated at 14:04 on May 01 2008. Heavy traffic on the M6 in the West ...

Holiday rail chaos for travellers
The Press Association
Travellers to and from London have been warned that they will have to contend with rail engineering works this bank holiday weekend. ...

Weekend travellers face chaos on railways
Telegraph.co.uk
By David Millward, Transport Editor Hundreds of thousands of travellers are to be engulfed in another weekend of Bank Holiday chaos. ...

Families face Bank Holiday travel chaos due to maintenance on road ...
This is London, UK
Drivers were last night warned to expect delays across the country over the bank holiday weekend. Up to 18million vehicles are forecast to take to the roads ...

TRAVEL CHAOS... IT MUST BE THE BANK HOLIDAY
UK Express, UK
By Polly Buchanan ROAD and rail travellers face a bank holiday nightmare this weekend, with engineering works set to cause misery for millions. ...

Road and rail chaos for bank holiday travel
Birmingham Post, UK
Holidaymakers hoping to get away for the long weekend have been warned to prepare for traffic jams and major disruption on the region’s roads and railways. ...

What's Your Traffic Pet Hate?

2008-02-08T08:42:00.000Z

Mine has to be the junction of the M62 and M6 near Warrington. I take this junction most days on my way to work and I every time I use it there'll be some muppet stuck in the outside lane the entire way round - it's almost a mile!

The sit there knowing that you're behind them and that there's an empty lane, but thing because a mile down the road they'll have to indicate, they just think they can't spend 2 seconds pulling in! Annoyed or what!

What's your traffic pet hate?

Rally Driving Gift Experience

2008-02-06T16:23:00.000Z

Lately when I've been stuck in traffic I'd like to get my new motor and pull out into a farmer's field and just put my foot down and get to work quicker! But, I feel that I don't quite have experience I'd need to pull it off. So I'm thinking about getting one of those Rally Driving Gift Experiences.

GEM Motoring Assist Break Down Cover

2008-01-29T09:29:00.000Z

Has anyone had any experience of GEM Motoring Assist? I'd appreciate some feedback. This is how they describe themselves?

GEM Motoring Assist operates Breakdown Cover which provides motorists with the policy they need at the lowest possible cost [now thats one heck of a claim!]. There are three levels of cover to choose from, which cover the member driving ANY qualifying vehicle, rather than the vehicle itself. With access to over 1,200 garages and more than 6,000 recovery vehicles nationwide, a 41 minute average callout and highly competitive premiums, it’s no surprise that so many motorists are switching to GEM.

GEM Motoring Assist is a leading UK motoring organisation with around 70,000 members which has been established for over 70 years. Club benefits include a lively quarterly magazine, Good Motoring, free literature and advice, and discounts on many insurances and other services.

Add your review of GEM Motoring Assist.

Americans Going Round The Bend

2008-01-29T09:18:00.000Z

The Daily Commercial News reports that Americans are starting to go round the bend as road planners are removing the traditional intersections in favour of roundabouts.

To be honest, whenever I've been on the roads in the States I've never found any problems with the traffic - the only issues I had was the insesent undertaking on the freeways. Apparently its legal, but slightly unnerving.

It looks like the US route planners will have to be updated very soon!

Bank Holiday Easter Traffic News

2008-01-23T17:55:00.000Z

With Easter just around the corner, you're probably planning your Easter Bank Holiday get-away. And with cash a bit tighter this year, many people will be staying in the UK.

The upshot of this will be that'll it'll be even more of a nightare of the roads than usual! So here's a few sites that should hopefully ease the pain:

Tom Tom Go 720 Review

2007-12-06T09:51:00.001Z

The TomTom Go 720 has got to be one of the best Sat Nav devices currently avaliable! It is simply awesome.

The Tom Tom Go 720 utilises people's desire to correct "mistakes" in the maps and share them with others. It's happened for me, my Tom Tom told me to turn right at a junction that no-longer exists. Now you can help others not stop in the middle of the right attempting to turn when they can't.

Another great feature is the inbuilt FM transmitter so it can cut in and play the directions over yur car speakers.

And if you thought it couldn't get any better, it'll read your text messages to you as you drive as well!

It can't get any better can it? Well yes! It has speech recognition as well. I've got one of the new Honda Civics and the voice recognition isn't all that great at times when you're telling the car to call your girlfriend. But the Tom Tom Go 720 has fantastic voice recognition capabilities to allow you to re-route as you drive without taking your hands off the steering wheel.

There's also the ability to create routes for walkers, limited speed and motorway avoidance etc.

Route Planners Rating:9/10

You can get it from Amazon for just £265.

Other UK Shops to buy the Tom Tom Go 720:

Walkit.com - A Walking Route Planner

2007-12-06T09:51:00.000Z

I've been thinking that people often need a walking route finder - not least for organising Sunday morning walks, but also trying to get to work if you live a reasonable distance from your office.

Now the fabulous website Walkit.com have created a brilliant walking route finder. It may only work for Birmingham, Edinburgh and London - but its a great start.

I just chose a random route: SW2 1AF to Cheslea Hospital. And it worked out the distance travelled, how long it'll take if you walk fast, medium slow, the related calorie burn and how much CO2 you'd avoid putting into the atmosphere.

You can also choose to print the map, directions and email it to a friend.

Here's a grab of the route I got back:

It even shows you useful way points:

Route Planners Rating: 9.0
A very useful service. I've just spent 1.5 trying to get to the office via the M62, M6 and M56 and got nowhere - having to turn home. For many traveling to work within cities it will be a fantastic way of cutting down congestion and saving emissions - well done!

More Th>n Breakdown Cover Review

2007-09-26T13:07:00.000+01:00

More Th>n may not be one of the old, established players in the market, but it looks like they know what they're doing.

An annual policy can cost from around £30.86 compared to AA at £39 and RAC at £35*.

* These prices were correct on 26th September 2007.

Green Flag Breakdown Cover Review

2007-09-26T12:55:00.000+01:00

Apparently you can receive upto 25% off your breakdown cover from Green Flag if you buy online!

Some of the breakdown cover companies offer a bewildering array of policies. Green Flag offer an easy to read table of what you get so it's very simple to choose the right cover for you.

Churchill Breakdown Cover

2007-09-26T12:38:00.001+01:00

Churchill now offer Breakdown Cover and it looks about half the price of the AA. Here's the details:

RAC - £99
AA - £133
Churchill - from £68

Based on continuous annual payments and inclusive of online discounts. Starting price for AA Option 400, RAC Solution 4 and Churchill CHRS. Source: competitor websites. Prices correct as at 06/02/07. RAC cover based on person. AA and Churchill cover based on vehicle. Covers may vary.

Get a breakdown cover quote from Churchill.

Bank Holiday Travel News & Planning

2007-05-25T11:01:00.000+01:00

If you're using public transport this Bank Holiday then the journey planner that the BBC has teamed up with Transport Direct should be just the tonic you need to avoid the Bank Holiday travel chaos.

You can visit the site here. The good thing is that it gives you a range of options as to how you'd like to do your journey. For example for a trip from Warrington Bank Quay train station to Euston Station you have various options:

1) Bus, Train, Walk - 4 hours 3mins
2) Bus, Train Walk - 4 hours 21mins
3) Bus, Coach, Underground, Walk - 8 hours 17 Mins
4) Car - 3 hours 53 mins, 191.5 miles

This is a great feature and would have been useful to people I know recently has they weighed up different options to get to Heathrow airport from Liverpool.

There would be one improvement, however. And that would be an indication of the cost of those particular routes. For this to happen they'd need to have access to all the costs and databases of the different travel companies - something I don't see happening anytime soon.

Anyhow, the BBC Travel News route planner is a great way to avoid the Bank Holiday travel blues.

Traffic Reports & Alerts

2006-08-18T22:13:00.000+01:00

We've come accross the Get Me There traffic monitor which shows you in a handy screen where the traffic problems are around the country. We used to use the Vauxhall TrafficNet just before we do long motorway journeys, but the Get Me There traffic map is much better especially if much of your journey isn't motorway based.

They've also got an online route planner, but when we try and review it it won't seem to work.

However, if you're really into your traffic alerts then you can watch Traffic TV on your mobile phone. This gives you the opportunity to watch CCTV footage from some of the TrafficMaster cameras around the UK road network.

USA Journey Planners

2006-08-11T20:33:00.000+01:00

We think if you're travelling the United States of America (USA) then you'll probably want to the route planner that most people over there user - MapQuest. It is chock full of functionality but we don't like the over use of advertising.

Here are some other alternative USA Route Planners:
- Live.com
- Yahoo! Maps
- Maps on Us
- AOL
- MapNation
- TravMatix

Green Flag

2006-08-03T19:00:00.000+01:00

The Green Flag Route Planner looks disappointing but the main thing is that its not cluttered with advertising and gives you the core features that you need. You've got the option to set way points and itinerary offered is clear and precise.

There's no fancy gimmickry which may be nice, but the most important factor is the provision of easy to read and accurate directions, which Green Flag does provide.

Route Planners Rating: 6/10 - Perfect if you want to create a route very quickly and aren't fused with knowing how much the journey will cost you and if you want to avoid toll roads or select your car type or speed. But the main point is that there's no annoying advertising.

Maporama

2006-08-03T18:42:00.000+01:00

The first impressions of Maporama is disapointing. There's too much advertising flashing at you and not a clear indication of the options you have. And when you delve deeper you realise that there realy isn't much to make Maporama stand out from the crowd.

Even the map it gives you basically just shows you the roads you go one, there's now show of towns or cities that you pass through.

It seems that only after you've made your route can you change the options. You can change whether you have the distances in miles or kilometres. You can also change if you're travelling by car or on foot (I wouldn't like to try this journey on foot). You can also change the speed levels that you expect to travel at as well as the option to avoid tolls.

The itinery itself is pretty useful. You can select to have the intersection maps within the directions or not. This is a feature that we often say is lacking. When you're travelling with someone that's driving its great to be able to see if the second turning on a roundabout is close to the first or if its all the way round.

There is one major draw-back with Maporama, however, and that is that you can't easily print the itinerary.

Route Planners Rating: 6/10 - Too cluttered, uninspiring, however the real featured are hidden beneath this mish-mash of a route planner. A "Print View" would help it, if you didn't nipp off and use the RAC route planner in the meantime.

Sat Nav Devices

2006-08-03T18:07:00.000+01:00

TomTom Go 510 Great Britain GPS Navigation Unit

£314.995 Used & new from £314.99

In stock

Navman iCN330 - GPS Navigation System with UK Maps

£149.168 Used & new from £142.99

In stock

TomTom GO 300 - GPS Navigation System

£360.993 Used & new from £209.99

In stock

Palm TX - PDA with TomTom 5 GPS Navigation System

£300.212 Used & new from £300.21

In stock

Garmin eTrex GPS Personal Navigator

£80.151 Used & new from £80.15

In stock

Garmin Forerunner 301 GPS-Enabled Personal Trainer with Heart Rate Monitor

£178.89£147.322 Used & new from £139.99

In stock

Navman iCN530 - GPS Navigation System

£249.995 Used & new from £249.99

In stock

Garmin eTrex Summit GPS

£169.99£145.715 Used & new from £144.97

In stock

Garmin Nuvi 300 - GPS Navigation System

£251.498 Used & new from £249.98

Usually dispatched within 1 to 2 weeks

Sony Nav-U50 - Portable GPS Navigation System

£236.619 Used & new from £211.99

In stock

Sony NVU50TG.EUR Portable GPS Navigation System

£282.427 Used & new from £244.00

In stock

Navman iCN 720 - GPS Navigation System

£399.002 Used & new from £399.00

In stock

Garmin GPS 12

£109.331 Used & new from £109.33

Navman iCN750 - GPS Navigaion System

£429.991 Used & new from £429.99

HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger - Windows Mobile Phone Edition 2003 SE - PXA270 312 MHz - RAM: 64 MB - ROM: 64 MB 3" TFT - IrDA, Bluetooth - GPS - GSM 850/900/1800/1900

£374.9810 Used & new from £340.00

Navman PiN 570 Handheld GPS System

£249.844 Used & new from £185.00

Garmin StreetPilot C320 - GPS Navigation Unit

2 Used & new from £279.99

Garmin Forerunner 201 Wrist-Mounted GPS Personal Training Device

£109.904 Used & new from £103.99

Garmin GPS 76, International Marine Point Database

£135.121 Used & new from £135.12

Garmin Nuvi 350 - GPS Navigation System

£398.998 Used & new from £379.99

Route Planning Software

2006-08-03T17:44:00.000+01:00

Here we list some of the best route planning software around.

Autoroute 2006 (28 Oct 2005 - Windows 2000 / XP)

Buy new: £45.00 £24.97 In stock

Used & new from £19.99

You save: £20.03 (45%)

Encarta 2006 Reference Library PC/DVD (5 Aug 2005 - Windows 2000 / 98 / XP)

Buy new: £39.99 £13.96 In stock

Used & new from £13.96

You save: £26.03 (65%)

Route 66 Europe 2005 (7 Jun 2004 - No Operating System, Windows 2000 / 98 / Me / NT / XP)

Buy new: £49.99 £49.98 In stock

Used & new from £49.98

Memory Map: Britains National Parks (PC) (16 Jun 2006 - Windows 2000 / 98 / XP)

Buy new: £24.99 £19.99 In stock

Used & new from £19.99

You save: £5.00 (20%)

Encarta 2006 Standard (5 Aug 2005 - Windows 2000 / 98 / XP)

Buy new: £19.99 £12.99 In stock

Used & new from £11.95

You save: £7.00 (35%)

Via Michelin Journey Planner

2006-07-23T09:40:00.000+01:00

At the outset we were disappointed with the level of flexibility with the Via Michelin Route Planner. However, tucked at the bottom of the form is a link that allows you to customise your route.

You can set the calibration into miles or kilometers. As well as assign a currency, your type of car, if you've got a caravan, how much your petrol costs, if you want to cross international borders, if you want to favour motorways, avoid tolls and taxes and avoid ferries and trains.

The journey it finds for you is excellent - clear and concise. They try and recreate the motorway signs to help you head in the right direction.

There's an interesting difference between the route that they specify as the quickest (2h 45m) and their "Recommended by Michelin" route which is four minutes slower. Just from my local knowledge and my own driving style, the "quickest" route is the best. But its great having an alternative and the ability to compare.

Furthermore, you can add individual junction maps within your itinerary. This is a useful bonus that most other route planners don't offer you.

Another feature we like is the ability to show Ibis hotels, car parks, and tourist attractions on the route.

There is one element that we don't like - the pop-ups. These are annoying, just make sure you've got a pop-up blocker set up.

Route planners Rating: 9.0 - We would like to give it 9.5 but the pop-up are annoying. And despite ViaMichelin offering in-line maps and the RAC not, there is just too much advertising on the ViaMichelin route planner.

Mapquest Route Planner

2006-07-22T10:49:00.000+01:00

Mapquest is one of the simplest route planners on the internet. But it's good that way. If you don't want to mess around with "via's" finding hotels on the way, etc etc, then it's useful enough.

The itinerary is simple too. But if you think about it, when you're driving, you need something that has the most pertinent information stand out. Mapquest doesn't do this. It would be almost fine if you've got someone else in the car that could help.

But there are some simple problems. At one stage it says "Enter next roundabout and take second exit ... [then] stay STRAIGHT to go onto M6." This could be more clear as it doesn't say "towards Birmingham" or "head South".

Then later on it says "M6 becomes M1". This is too simplistic, only if you've got the maps open and printed will you know that it bends round to the right and have to continue. Some may feel that you've got a junction, as is the case joining the M6 there.

These points may be picky, but the directions need to be clear and unambiguous.

Route Planners Rating: 6/10.

Mappy European Route Planner

2006-07-22T10:01:00.000+01:00

We've been playing with Mappy Route Planner for a while now and we just love it.

One of the main criterias we set for a good route planner is the ability to set "Vias", Mappy lets you set more than one. Also the interface is simple to use and looks great.

The bit that we like is the ability to set a fuel reimbursement allowance rate and a cost per mile. This is perfect for company car users. You can see how much the journey will cost you and how much you'll get back.

Also you can set what size car you have to help it determine fuel efficiency. You can select: Compact Car, Mid-size car, Sedan Car, Luxury Car; as well as various types of minibus or lorries. You can even specify if you're towing a caravan or not.

Furthermore you can also set if what currency you want the information to be in.

There are also options to avoid tolls and mountain passes.

We also like the intinery display as it's not over-complicated. The directions themselves are very clear and have the added benefit of showing you the motorway signs so you don't end up going in the wrong direction.

There is just one element we don't like - they haven't fully converted the translation into English. We can only see this on the "send by e-mail" page. But this doesn't distract from the first useful "send to a friend" we've seen on a route planner. Most simply allow you to send a link to the homepage. Mappy allows you to send the complete route with options.

We would also like them to include features such as hotels, petrol stations etc, just as they have with the service stations.

Route Planners Rating: 8.5

Public Transport Journey Planners

2006-07-19T21:38:00.000+01:00

We've found a pretty decent public transport journey planner. Planajourney allws you to schedule journeys on trains, planes, coaches, buses, the underground and ferries. Now that we like! Hopefully you will too.

London Journey Planners
There's simply no better public transport planner for London that the Transport for London site.

Bus Journey Planners
Stoke on Trent
Derbyshire
Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Travel West Midlands

Train Journey Planners
Traveline

Local Journey Guides
Get There on the Web - Helping you get to Colchester General Hospital.

Multimap Route Planner

2006-07-12T16:13:00.000+01:00

The Multimap Route Planner is perhaps the least inspiring of them all. At the outset the only good point is that you can choose a number of countries to build a route for - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Another nice feature is the ability to set the "Start Time". But anyone that travels as a family knows that you never actually leave at the "we'll be out the door time".

One major downside is the inability to set a "via". In our comparison route we are using in our reviews is Warrington to Milton Keynes via Daventry. This can't be done with Multimap.

The actual map and route looks very complicated for this journey unless you click on the "print" button at the top, then you get I usefully simple version.

The only thing is that you'll probably have to go over the print out with a pen so you can eaily see where you're going.

Another minor thing that's quite good is the reminder to take a break every two hours or so. I'm one of the worst for not taking breaks.

On the non print-out version we like the ability to click on a junction number and get a close up look. This is pretty useful when working out which lane to be in at a busy intersection.

Another down-side is the amount of advertising present. Its like staning in Piccadilly Circus.

Overall, it looks to simple and useless to start. But if you're doing simple routes then its fairly good.

Route Planner Rating: 6/10