TMC Traffic City and Road Coverage
GPS Lodge reader Rob pointed out that it can be hard to find out about TMC Traffic coverage for most GPS units, and so I thought it would be good to point out coverage for the US is limited to the top 65 or so metro areas in the US.
The data is fed to Clear Channel from their data provider Inrix, which is then sent out as a data feed on the FM spectrum. Your GPS will pick it up if it has the TMC traffic feature and you have a trial or paid subscription to the service. The coverage was upped earlier this year, so that more roadways around cities were added as well as initiating new coverage on other cities. The same data feed provides coverage to Garmin, TomTom (TMC and TomTom PLUS services via mobile phone), Mio, Navigon, etc.
One of the better maps (shown above – click for a larger version) I have seen is at Garmin’s support and sign-up pages for TMC. It's not totally up to date, but it's pretty clear.
Head over to the Garmin website, and you will see a complete list of covered cities. Most cities have a pop-up map for road coverage (roads covered are shown in a red hue) around major cities. You can also check coverage at the Total Traffic Network site.
Read More on Traffic information and coverage topics or a primer on TMC Traffic here at GPSLodge.com
Read More in: Traffic News
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Posted by Scott Martin at December 18, 2007 8:09 AM
What has been your experience with the traffic information? I have a Garmin c550, and I am very disappointed with the TMC information. In Boston, it only covers the interstate highways, and I don't find the information very accurate. I've been stuck in traffic while the GPS was happy about the chosen route and there was nothing on the traffic screen.
Is the information from traffic.com better? That is, would it be better if I had purchased the c580?
I just got a c580 - live in the Stamford, CT area. MSN service (Traffic.com) couldn't even provide me a signal when i started moving in my car. The only time i could get a signal in stamford, ct or white plains, NY was when the car had been stopped for hours. Garmin support, noted that they were getting reports of very spotty coverage and have since sent me the TMC traffic receiver and i am sending back the MSN one. Hopefully the TMC is better. Then again, all it has to do is receive a signal while i am moving and its already better!
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