Whatever happened to remote teleworking? They promised us a life of leisure with no commuting, more time with the dog, less stress and all round roses and champagne. Well maybe I’m missing something, but the roads still look massively jammed up to me, and there’s no love and flowers flowing around the intersections as far as I can see.
OK, so it’s impossible to avoid the commuter crush, but maybe there’s a way to use technology to lessen the pain. Beat The Traffic is a free smartphone app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry, which supplies maps, traffic cams and valuable information to help avoid traffic jams and sort out better routes.
You can set up personal routes which you use often, and check them before you leave in your web browser, and the phone app will alert you if the situation deteriorates en route so you can adjust your journey and avoid the worst. There are free and paid versions, and the software is for the US and Canada only at the moment. For a UK version try www.keepmoving.co.uk and the INRIX app for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry.
