The map was up and running in time for the airport opening.
Sharing is caring
Because TomTom was the only company to turn up to the survey, it was the only mapping service with a reliable and accurate map. But not everyone had access to it, because not everyone uses TomTom maps.
The value of TomTom’s AIFA map became clear on opening day. For those that were using TomTom navigation, they were able to find the airport through the new roads, arriving on time. Those who used alternative services, didn’t fare as well.
Journalists covering the opening day found themselves spending extra time trying to find the airport and others still faced issues visiting the airport after March 21. As AIFA is also further outside the city than the main airport, AICM, journeys are already longer. One journalist reported that there was little to no signage on their way to AIFA, with the signs that were around pointing the driver in a different direction to what the GPS was saying.
In the case of one community-based navigation app, the service couldn’t even update its map due to its reliance on crowdsourcing updates. This is fine for updating already known roads, but it’s not that useful for guiding drivers when they’re on entirely new roads/infrastructure. Without geometry or points of interest (POIs), its users couldn’t get to the airport in the first place to provide the data to map it.
Other mapping services’ dependency on community-only inputs, and lack of local intel resources put them and their users at a disadvantage – one that TomTom was able to help with in the days after. TomTom shared the airport updates with the Mexican government, so that other mapping services could access the information.
But even a month after the airport opening, TomTom still had the most up-to-date, relevant and accurate map data for its users. Within a month, enough probe data had been collected to show that TomTom’s map was correct and working well.
Doing field collection was a break from the norm but it worked in TomTom’s favor. By focusing on the data collected, as well as updates given by the Mexican government, a working map was available in time for those heading to the airport — in just three days.
On March 21, TomTom saw around 1,159 trips with its map service, a number that increased to over 5,000 by the end of the month. The AIFA airport welcomes around 2,000 visitors a day, meaning a fair share of them use TomTom’s maps to get there. As of June 24, 31,647 trips have been made to the AIFA airport using TomTom navigation.
TomTom’s work on the AIFA map was a result of team collaboration and making sure that nothing was missed. While the situation was trickier than usual, with a lack of communication between the Mexican government and various mapping companies, TomTom was determined to provide an accurate map for its users in time for opening day. And thanks to the Local Intel Team, as well as others, that was possible — and shared freely for the benefit of all.