Happy 2 million downloads Beat The Traffic! 3 years, 3 countries… and still growing.

Since its launch in 2009, our app consistently placed among the best traffic apps in the iPhone App Store and Android Market:

• 4 stars rating
• Top 10 in Navigation category
• ”Best iPhone apps for your car” by LifeHacker

Two million downloads is a great accomplishment, and we certainly couldn’t have done it without all of you. So thank you, thank you! 

We can’t believe that we have reached our second million in half the time it took us to get the first. We could fill an Olympic Stadium 25 times with all these people   And you guys aren’t just passive users, you’re people who really love our product and use it all the time. Way to go!

And this is not all! Prepare yourself for something even bigger! In a few weeks, Beat the Traffic 2.0 will be released, featuring a brand new design, lots of the improvements you’ve been waiting for and other surprises. Yay!!!

In the meantime, keep an eye out on our Facebook andTwitter page for exciting news about our upcoming app.

Take a  sneak preview of BTT 2.0

Ever wonder who is behind typing these blogs, running BeatTheTraffic.com, or developing the great apps? Well wonder no longer! Now this post will finally satisfy the many inquiring minds (all of you, I’m sure) who want to know who we are.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet the Team!

• Andre – President & CEO

Originally from France, Andre founded Beat The Traffic in 2001.
His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: help people stay out of traffic.
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: time with my family, friends, swimming, bicycling.
What does he like most about BTT app: My Routes and estimate of how long a trip takes given current and predicted traffic conditions
Favorite quote: Life is good
Favorite car: BMW
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? – Bass ale

• Yann – Marketing Manager

From France too, he has more than 10 years experience in web design and marketing.

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: design all those awesome apps
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: Other than geeky high tech stuff, I’m a big baseball fan. Go Giants! I also love spending time at the beach and playing with my dog.
What do you like most about our app: I love that it saves time to people. If everyday we’re able to save even just 5 minutes to the 2 million people who downloaded the app, that’s already over 10 millions of minutes.  Not bad for a mobile app!
Favorite quote: “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas” – Linus Pauling
Favorite car: I’m not a big car fan actually. As long as it takes me from point A to point B in one piece I’m happy. But if I had to pick a dream car, it would have Beat the Traffic already integrated in its dashboard.
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? My favorite dish to make is crepes. So, I always have milk, eggs, ham and cheese ready. In case I have a craving I can cook that up in just a few minutes. Mmmm!

• Tony – Software Engineer

Tony is the brain of the Kingdom – he is the main developer 

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: Keep the app updated and running.
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: when he is not practicing the art of software engineering, Tony likes to do MORE software engineering.
What does he like most about BTT app: that it’s free
Favorite quote: Whoever believes in dreams knows how to interpret them
Favorite car – Andre’s car
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Expired food

• Martin– Software Engineer

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: web developer
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: surfing, spending time at the beach
What does he like most about BTT app: report incidents feature
Favorite quote:  Today is as good as another day to die (a little depressing, Martin)
Favorite car – Saab 93
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? – Nothing

• Briac – Engineers Manager

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: in charge of Beat the Traffic 3D Broadcast solution.
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: photography (Check out Briac’s Picasa web album)
What does he like most about BTT app: My daily alerts.
Favorite quote: “It often happens that things are other than what they seem, and you can get yourself into trouble by jumping to conclusions.” ― Paul Auster, Moon Palace
Favorite car – Mercedes Benz 190SL 1960
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Mainly Greek yogurts

• Edgar – Software Engineer Manager

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: Coordinate projects to create awesome products. Help with engineering as needed.
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: Playing Basketball, Going to the Gym, Exploring Nature.
What does he like most about BTT app:  Whenever users send us messages thanking us for helping them ease their commute. Whenever I use it, I like to check out travel times and look at cameras to decide on the best route.
Favorite quote: Life is great, live each day to the fullest
Favorite car: Honda S2000
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Serrano peppers from Mexico

• Judy – Support Manager

Is the rare pearl of the team: she is not French and she is a woman

Her role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: to “Keep the customer happy!”
Her favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: silly computer games
What does she like most about BTT app: it’s always good to know what’s ahead
Favorite quote: At first glance it may appear too hard. Look again….always look again.
Favorite car – Honda Crosstour
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? – salad, cheese, bread

•  Jack – Sales Manager

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: extend the borders of the Beat The Traffic Kingdom.
Favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: Spend time with friends and family
What does he like most about BTT app: Nobody else has one quite like it.
Favorite car – A pickup truck
Favorite quote – There is no limit to what a man can do so long as he doesn’t care who gets the credit.
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Swordfish

• Hank – Sales Manager

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: I work with our customers to make sure they’re happy and sign news ones, so they can be happy too
Favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: It’s a coin toss between playing Ultimate Frisbee and Mountain biking
What does he like most about BTT app: It summarizes my specific route at any time.
Favorite car - The paid off kind or a DeLorean.
Favorite quote - To have good friends, you have to be a good friend
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Milk, deli meats, jello cups, soda, and there’s probably an expired ranch dressing in there

• Patricia – Office Manager

Patricia is the Queen of the Kingdom.

Her role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: Besides bookkeeping, HR and general administrative work, she takes care of all our office parties. So basically she gives us food and money
Her favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: cooking, biking and shopping!
What does she like most about BTT app: stress free, saves time
Favorite quote: What does not kill makes you stronger – Friedrich Nietzsche
Favorite car: Mercedes CLK
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Cheese, fruits and veggies

• I (Carolina), Clement and Charly – the lucky interns

Our role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom: Me and Clement – marketing, Charly – software engineering.
We facilitate BTT communication on social networking sites,  trade shows, promotional campaigns, and so on.
Favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: Carolina – ballroom dancing, Charly – music, Clement -TV shows, video games, BBQ and beers with friends
What does she like most about BTT app:
Favorite car -our old cars
Favorite quote - ”They didn’t know it was impossible so they did it” Mark Twain
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Food

• Dave - Support/QA Analyst

His role at Beat The Traffic Kingdom:  I help Judy keep our customers happy and support the Beat The Traffic broadcast, web and mobile app products.
His favorite pass-time if not stuck in traffic: Breaking down and rebuilding computers,  relaxing with good friends
What does he like most about BTT app:  My Traffic, Travel time, and the reporting incident  feature
Favorite quote:  Humour is just another defence against the universe - Mel Brooks
Favorite car: Mercedes CLS Class
What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Guinness

So now you have some faces to connect as the driving force behind all of Beat the Traffic’s wonderful products and services.
On the picture from left to right the bottom row: Martin, Andre, Yann + the dog, Tony. Upper row in the middle: Patricia, Christine, Charlie, Judy, Carolina.

Super Bowl traffic: Know before you go

Are you a fan of the Super Bowl? Of course you are! Are you ready to beat the Super Bowl crazy traffic? Maybe not? Don’t worry, Beat The Traffic is here to help you out.

No matter where you are, you can still arrive on time and watch the game whether it is at a bar downtown, a friend’s house in the suburb or a stadium.

 The Super Bowl is just 2 days away and as the cities get closer to the game day, they will be closing many downtown streets.

The game is expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors in Indianapolis and thousands in New England and New York. So if you intend to go downtown to watch the game you should definitely elaborate a good plan to get there

Check for alternate routes, closed streets (remember that there might be last minute changes) and traffic forecast. BTT is committed to providing you all the information you need to know before you hit the road to enjoy the game. We have enough information to make everyone smart!

BTT 2.0 unveiled at MacWorld Exhibit

Hundreds of products and exhibits were on display on the show floor this year. For three days of tech talks, music and film we had the great pleasure to meet all of our fans and receive a bunch of compliments

And all of those who came by had the opportunity to take a sneak peek of our new app BTT 2.0 which will come out soon.  Check out this article on CNET.com

MacWorld was a great success for us, BTT being featured as the app giving the ”most accurate picture of the road you can get without actually being there, stuck in traffic”; an app that delivers ”valuable information in easy-to-view format”.  Read more.

If you plan to attend next year Exhibit, Macworld 2013 will be held at the same place in San Francisco, from January 31 to February 2 of next year.

Like us on Facebook  and follow us on Twitter for every day news, tips and info.

-Beat the Traffic Team

By James E. O’Neal

NY1 traffic reporter Jamie Shupak using Beat The Traffic's on-air system

Beat the Traffic is not only on mobile, it’s also on TV, radio and web. Here is an article from ”TV Technology” about how broadcast media uses Beat The Traffic new technologies to display latest traffic news.

‘’Weather reports have been part of television since its inception as a broadcast service; traffic reporting took a little longer to reach the medium, but is also now a big part of the operation and most large and medium market stations.

One of the companies to recognize the potential of television’s evolving reach is Beat The Traffic. It was launched more than 10 years ago and now provides service to some 56 North American TV operations.

Andre Gueziec,  Beat The Traffic’s president and CEO, explained that – just as with weather information – what broadcasters report has little value unless it’s immediate and localized.

‘’My company thought it could provide a much more informative presentation, using television to its maximum in providing traffic information. When we launched, we were immediately rewarded with inquiries from quite a few stations’’ Andre said.

Gueziec observed that real-time traffic reporting by TV stations has become a necessity and has basically followed the same track as weather reporting.
‘’I would say that it’s evolving like weather reporting in the sense that many stations have decided to produce their own reports and come to companies such as ours for reporting tools and data’’.