Bing Maps recently added new transit features to make taking the bus an easier proposition, but they haven’t forgotten about those folks who still like to drive themselves around. The Bing blog took a few minutes this morning to let us know that Bing had just such people in mind when they added traffic camera support to their mapping solution.
As you may or may not be aware, there are lots and lots of traffic cameras scattered around the world. You might see them during traffic reports on the news, or in various other contexts, and quite often they’re boring views down stretches of lonely highway. Sometimes, though, they can provide some insight into traffic conditions for when you’re planning a trip or commuting to work, and so when you need them, they’re great to have.
Bing Maps can now view over 35,000 traffic cameras located in 11 countries, giving you the ability to drill straight into that plot of land that could spell being late for work or early enough to grab a Friday-morning bagel. All you have to do to get started is turn on the Traffic layer and toggle on the Cameras option.
Just click on a camera and see what’s going on in your neck of the woods:
As you view cameras, they populate the recently viewed list (natch), letting you track a route and at various stages along the way:
The Bing blog also discussed the recent international expansion of their traffic-estimating algorithm Clearflow, which provides accurate travel estimates where live traffic reporting isn’t provided. Once only provided for the U.S., Clearflow now works worldwide.
Bing Maps continues to enhance their services and make for a more formidable competitor to Google Maps. We’re glad to see it, because of course we’d rather Bing than Google any day.