"What you want to know as a consumer is a solution -- you don't just want a bunch of data," said Rob Currie, the company's president and chief operating officer. "You want to know that, today, this is the best route home."
Currie believes his system's larger screen will make it preferable to cellphones. Others, however, suggest there may come a day when cellphones can be plugged into in-car computer screens that some expect to become more prevalent.
Another question is whether any real-time data can actually reduce commute times, particularly if everyone begins using it. One answer may be found in the sprawling, auto-dependent Houston area.
Houston Transtar, a partnership of four government agencies that oversees roadways in the region, has for several years produced electronic maps with traffic speeds. The maps -- which got 12 million web hits in January -- are generated by tracking cars that have toll-road transponders, even when they are not traveling on area toll roads.
That, in turn, allows the agency to offer a service that tells motorists exactly how long their commute will take on a particular freeway. Officials don't think the system has reduced traffic, but they believe motorists are using the information and that has helped prevent traffic from worsening. But Transtar has stopped short of offering alternative routes. Officials say it goes against the nature of Texas to tell people where they should drive. Also, for liability reasons, they don't want to get into the business of steering traffic off freeways and through communities that don't want short-cutters.
"We're trying to give drivers enough information to make those decisions themselves," said Jack Whaley, the director of Houston Transtar. "If someone is commuting, they know all the alternatives. People aren't stupid."
steve.hymon@latimes.com
