How to plan and optimize routes: apps to download

If you are a driver and in the business of organizing routes, you will definitely benefit from understanding how to plan routes and optimize travel time.

In the world of chauffeur-driven car hire, the ability to plan and optimise routes is essential in order to guarantee your customers an efficient and quality service. As a driver, you know that every minute and every mile counts: finding the quickest route, avoiding traffic and reducing journey times will improve the customer experience and increase your productivity.

Fortunately, technology, and apps in particular, can help us plan our routes. There are route planning apps that can guide you on which directions to take and which roads are less congested, with features such as real-time traffic updates, alternative route suggestions and integration with booking and customer management systems. 

In this article, we explain how these apps can revolutionize the way you plan your journeys and which are the best route planning sites to try.

Why is route planning important?

As a driver, your job is to get a customer from one point to another, making sure the journey is as comfortable and punctual as possible. This is why it is important to plan your route perfectly, especially if it involves several stops. 

Route planning is an essential skill for a driver because:

• It guarantees efficiency and punctuality for customers. A well-planned route avoids delays due to traffic, road works or other unforeseen events. This is crucial for maintaining punctuality, which is highly valued by customers, especially when they have important commitments such as business meetings or flights;
• Optimizes costs. By managing routes efficiently, you can reduce fuel consumption and vehicle wear and tear, saving money and reducing your impact on the environment;
• Improves the customer experience. A smooth and stress-free journey is what every customer expects from a quality service. An optimized route therefore improves the customer experience and increases the likelihood that they will use your service again in the future;
• Improves time management. Route planning allows you to maximize the number of services you can provide in a day, increasing your revenue potential;
• Increases safety. Well-planned routes prevent sudden maneuvers or last minute route changes, ensuring safer driving with less risk to you and your passengers.

How can you optimize your road trips? Guide to apps

Today it is easier to create optimized road routes thanks to a variety of route planning apps. These apps are designed to help chauffeurs plan more efficient routes, taking into account various variables such as real-time traffic, street closures, road works and distances. 

By using these apps you can reduce journey times, improve punctuality and provide a first class travel experience. As you’re probably aware, there are some more well-known apps, such as Google Maps, as well as more niche apps that can be really interesting to try out.

Here is a list of some of the best apps available for optimized route planning: 

• Google Maps 
• Waze 
• HERE WeGo 
• MapQuest 
• Sygic

Let us look at the features of each of these applications together.

Google Maps

Speaking of route optimisation, Google Maps is one of the most popular and reliable navigation applications used by drivers and travelers all over the world. 

This application offers so many features that it is an essential tool for route optimisation. With Google Maps, you have access to detailed maps, precise driving directions and real-time traffic information to help you avoid traffic jams and delays. 

One of the main features of Google Maps is its ability to suggest alternative routes: in case of heavy traffic, accidents or road works, the application will suggest alternative routes to reach your destination in the shortest time possible. 

Google Maps also has a built-in search function that makes it easy to find addresses, places of interest, petrol stations, restaurants and more along the way.

ONE THING NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: one feature of Google Maps that not everyone knows about, but which can be particularly useful for drivers, is the “multi-stop routing” feature. 

This feature allows you to add multiple destinations along the route, making it easier to plan multi-stop journeys. To get started, simply enter your final destination and then use the “add stop” option to add more stops along your route.

Waze

One of the best free apps for route planning is Waze. Waze is a navigation app that provides real-time traffic information and suggestions for alternative routes. 

This app stands out for its collaborative approach: users of the app can actively contribute by reporting accidents, road works, closures and even the presence of speed cameras. 

ONE THING NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: a little-known feature of Waze is its integration with petrol stations. Waze will help you find the nearest petrol station along your route, while also providing up-to-date information on fuel prices.

HERE WeGo

HERE WeGo is another of the most popular apps for route planning. In addition to the classic functions of a GPS map, one of its main features is the availability of offline maps, allowing you to navigate without having to rely on a permanent Internet connection.

ONE THING NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: HERE WeGo also has information on parking options near your destination. You can view parking availability and prices in the app, so you can plan where to park in advance.

MapQuest

Another route management app is MapQuest, a route planning solution with clear directions and options to avoid traffic, tolls and highways. 

The app is particularly popular for its simplicity and ease of use, making it a reliable choice if you want a system with a no-frills interface. 

ONE THING NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: one feature of MapQuest that may not be immediately obvious is its multi-journey feature. This feature allows you to enter multiple destinations and have a route optimized to cover all the points as quickly as possible.

Sygic

Finally, a navigation application that you could try to organize your routes is Sygic. 

Sygic is very easy to use and includes many detailed maps that can be used both online and offline. You can use the app to get directions and monitor traffic updates in real time to avoid delays.

ONE THING NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: an interesting feature of Sygic is its augmented reality driving feature, known as Sygic Real View Navigation. This feature uses your phone’s camera to show the road ahead in real time, with navigation directions overlaid directly on the image.

Improve your daily work with LiMO

Creating fast routes is not the only responsibility of a good driver. To better manage clients, collect bookings and improve your approach, join the LiMO community.

LiMO is the world’s largest community of professional chauffeurs. In LiMO you can improve the management of your business thanks to software that allows you to control bookings, services and bureaucratic aspects such as invoicing.  

What’s more, you can exchange your excess services on the Marketplace and complete your training with the Academy. 

To join LiMO and access all the benefits of the software and community, contact us now.