Travel to any big city and you’ll see construction. New roads, new buildings. We are familiar with the building up. But what needs attention is the building down – changing existing infrastructure through the reallocation of space at eye level. Think about Paris’ plan to ban cars, freeing up space that can be (re)used, or up-cycled, for new purposes. Is this the overlooked challenge cities have been facing around the world?

Counterpoint Research is a global technology market research firm specializing in the technology, media and telecommunications industries. As part of its ongoing analysis, it recognizes TomTom as an industry leader when it comes to in-vehicle experience, digital cockpit technology and navigation. We sat down with one of the organization’s founders to learn more.

The latest TomTom Traffic Index has arrived. Covering traffic trends for 2023, this year’s edition surveys 387 cities around the globe and covers metrics such as congestion, average travel time, the impact of rush hour and the environmental impact of congestion in our cities. It also tracks the cost of driving which, in a world struck by an increase in the cost of living, is becoming an important consideration for many motorists. Here are the headlines from this year’s report.

Traffic is a universal challenge. Roads and cities all over the world must constantly manage congestion and traffic to allow vehicles and people to move freely, with ease. While lowering stress might be the first thing most of us worry about in this context, managing traffic is part of the much bigger picture of sustainability, emissions and the livability of our cities and towns. Technology is one of the biggest tools to tackle this challenge, so we spoke to one of TomTom’s traffic experts to find out more.

What springs to mind when you think about Christmas delivered, wrapped and under the tree? The North Pole big chief perhaps (if you’re under ten), or what about the mobilized army of truck drivers, all powering through from Black Friday to Christmas Eve? Here we look at a changed retail landscape in 2023, the impact on transportation, and we talk to three HGV drivers – the real heroes of the season – to discover what it’s really like getting Christmas from A to Z.

This is the first installment of Viewpoint, a new column that comes to you directly from a TomTom’er, or someone who we think has a viewpoint worth sharing. In this edition, our resident writer-at-large muses on how important maps are in modern tech.

Sadly, the answer to that question isn’t simple. It pays to think of charging an EV as something entirely new, don’t compare it to what you would have done with your gasoline vehicle. There are many factors to consider when charging an EV, all of which affect how fast it can charge and how long you’ll spend at a charger.

Endings matter – especially when it comes to last-mile delivery. But did you know that delivery people find the last 100 meters to be the toughest part of the whole process? We explore the reasons why, and what can be done to make the home stretch of the last mile smoother for drivers, businesses and customers.

New rules adopted by the Council of the EU could encourage the most significant changes in the fight to make EV charging on long journeys as easy as filling up a gasoline car.

Although drivers should always be aware of their surroundings while driving, split second lapses of concentration do happen. And that’s all it can take for a fatal accident to occur. The good news: there is tech that is trying to keep those in vehicles safe when lapses in concentration occur.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve interviewed TomTom’ers who are working on the future of mapping and location tech. We’ve spoken with the technically minded, the future oriented and the community focused. Most recently, we talked to one of TomTom’s EV experts. It might surprise you to find out that TomTom is so invested in the world of EV, but, as we learned, location data and digital maps are going to play a central role in the transition to cleaner transport.

It’s been a few months since TomTom announced its new Orbis Maps and data ecosystem. Since then, the company has also announced its involvement in the Overture Foundation, an open map data project. The wider open mapping community is an important part of the future of location tech, so in this week’s Q&A we talk to someone working close to the world of open mapping and community-built maps.

The TomTom Traffic Index numbers are in. In this edition, London takes the top spot as one of the world’s busiest and most expensive cities for drivers. But it's also the slowest city on the planet.

Just as the coronavirus pandemic faded into memory, new challenges thrust themselves upon the world. War in Ukraine, a looming recession, market unease and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis. Continued uncertainty is bleeding onto our roads and making it more expensive to refuel our vehicles, deliver goods and move about our cities. TomTom’s Traffic Index, now more detailed than ever, shows us the full story. Here's what we learned.

TomTom’s Traffic Index is giving us more insight than ever into the realities of traffic in the world’s major cities. But there are a couple of questions that everyone wants answers to: which cities are hit worst by traffic? And which city centers experience the busiest rush hours? Thanks to TomTom’s traffic report, we have the answers.

In November last year, TomTom announced its new geospatial data ecosystem, the TomTom Orbis Maps. It’s generated significant buzz, both inside and outside TomTom Towers. But what's all the fuss about? We’re asking some fellow TomTom’ers for their take on it all.