MapQuest is targeting working individuals and commuters with its new Commute application, designed to simplify consumers? daily drives and offer more navigation convenience.

Commute is a single-purpose app developed to monitor route conditions, update expected travel times and alert users to accidents on the road. MapQuest claims that it offers simple access to real-time, key information for drivers. 

?As with all of our products and features, we use data to support development decisions and, in this case, we knew our existing base of 45 million users had a need for this type of service,? said Brian McMahon, general manager of MapQuest. ?The idea was to give users this option of a streamlined experience that bridges to our more robust navigation apps.?

Roadside companion
Commute is able to report on typical roadside conditions such as inclement weather, traffic congestion, construction roadblocks and accidents. According to MapQuest, the app is streamlined to help drivers reach their destinations in the safest and most timely manner.

?We are interested in watching how users will engage with a single-purpose app,? said Mr. McMahon. ?If, for instance, Commute detects traffic and the user wants an alternate route or would like to add a stop to the route, she can launch that route in our core navigation app with one touch.?

To access the app, consumers must download Commute onto their smartphones and input basic information, such as home and work addresses, in order to receive push notifications that will arrive fifteen minutes before their scheduled departures.

The basic information enables the app to give an accurate arrival time based on the consumer?s usual commute patterns. Anticipated roadside challenges will appear based on real-time conditions.

Personalized notifications
The app also learns the user?s commute patterns and can discern whether it should route to home or to work. Even if the consumer does not load the app, it still anticipates morning and evening drives and provides push notifications unless the user sets it to ?vacation? mode.

?Push notifications are a key differentiator and use-case for Commute,? Mr. McMahon said. ?The idea of receiving an alert 15 minutes prior to a user?s normal departure time allows her to make more empowered decisions.

?She can leave early if traffic or undesirable road conditions exist, or if roads are clear, she can decide to grab another cup of coffee, have some extra time with the family or get a quick errand done on the way in.?

Because the app knows users? commuting patterns, it also knows where to route you mid-day. If a user has a mid-day meeting offsite and the app knows that person usually works until 5 p.m., it will know to route the user back to the office once the meeting is finished.

?We see Commute being a great companion app to our navigation product and, in fact, the early data we?re seeing is proving that to be the case,? said Mr. McMahon.

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York