Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom VP of Product Management Traffic and Travel Information, has studied traffic, congestion and its impact on transit for decades. Over this time, much has changed in the world, but one thing has remained constant: the challenge of traffic and congestion.

What does it take to experience the single worst day of traffic in a year? Sapporo in Japan knows the answer to that question.

It’s known as the city that never sleeps — and many New Yorkers will not be surprised to learn that their city takes the prize for slowest moving in North America in 2024.

Anyone who has found themselves sitting in a London traffic jam may not be surprised to learn that the UK’s capital is its most congested – and the problem is getting worse.

A truly global perspective on traffic management. Across the world, effective traffic management is a critical element in logistics and urban planning. How effective it is though, depends on the data. TomTom’s traffic data is known for its breadth and resolution, and its yearly Traffic Index is the perfect display of what sets it apart.

Regulating vehicle tech is no simple matter. Facing big goals to improve road safety, cars are filling up with active safety technologies and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). We have seen massive leaps forward in the capabilities of ADAS tech in recent years, increasing levels of automation and autonomy. As a result, we’ve begun to see closer regulation of this driver assistance tech, but where do we currently stand and what can we expect in the coming years?

2024: the year that TomTom Orbis Maps went global. There's a lot to reflect on and even more to come. In this interview with TomTom CMO and Co-founder Corinne Vigreux we find out more.

Traffic is one of the most interesting modern phenomena. It ebbs and flows, acting like a part of a living organism, the lifeblood of a city, creating a pulse as it courses through its asphalt veins. As for any living body, keeping healthy should be the number one priority, and taming traffic to keep our cities healthy is no simple matter. Traffic doesn’t always react as you might expect, it’s unpredictable. As such, there are many paradoxes associated to it. Induced Demand is one that we should all know about because it can change how we think about driving, infrastructure and making mobility more sustainable.

There was a time when gathering and analyzing data was a struggle. In 1880 the American census took eight years to compile and analyze. Thanks to computers and specialist analysis software, it now takes well under a year to gather, compile and declare census results. Traffic data has followed a similar trajectory, and today, errors are minimized, and data can be collected, analyzed and put to use within minutes rather than months or years.

Efficient driving isn’t just for those focused on being eco-friendly; it’s becoming a necessity for us all. With fuel costs and environmental concerns rising, we need to be more mindful of not just what we drive, but how we drive it — our wallets and the planet will thank us. We should all strive to drive more efficiently, but what exactly is it and how can it save us money while helping the environment?

Back in 20th-century Britain, it was common to see Milk Floats – those small, noisy trucks delivering fresh milk to doorsteps every morning. These little trucks went electric, and thus silent, in the mid-20th century, setting the stage for today’s short-haul electric fleets. While Milk Floats are a thing of the past, the need to electrify transport fleets is more crucial than ever to combat air pollution and reduce fossil fuel costs.

Cargo bikes are having a moment. Around the world, in cities big and small, you’ll find couriers, families and businesses taking to the streets on bicycles designed to carry everything you can imagine. But the things we see as new and modern often have deep roots. Cargo bikes, it turns out, have been around in one form or another for over a century. So why are we seeing them everywhere now? And what can we learn from their past? This is the story of how cargo bikes have persevered through the years and continue to shape our cities.

As the world changes, so does the way we move. As cities grow, daily commutes also grow, elevating traffic volume, congestion and pollution. Add to this, time loss and higher fuel expenses for drivers. To understand how to find a sustainable solution for this problem, we spoke with Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s VP Product Management of Traffic, Travel and Routing.

The very first Olympics event I was aware of was the Moscow Olympics. It was 1980, and the Cold War was going strong. The US and many other countries boycotted the event, protesting the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. While this gave a political backdrop to the Games, the event, after all, was about sports. For me, it was also about the crowd: the Moscow Olympics had more than 5,000 athletes and hundreds of thousands of visitors. 

It’s that time of the year again. As you pack your suitcases and head out on your summer vacation, we spoke to over 2,400 of your fellow European travelers to find out the latest travel trends. Whether you like following the crowd or heading off the beaten track, we're here to help you prepare for everything that awaits you this summer.

Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is making major inroads in Europe. But how does it make roads safer, how do maps contribute to its effectiveness and is there a case for making it a global standard? We sat down with road safety expert David Ward to see what’s next for ISA tech and regulation.