Posted on 5/15/2013

Written By Liz Wassmann

The average American worker has a one-way daily commute of about 25.5 minutes. That’s 5 hours a week just spent traveling to and from work. We’ve compiled a list of apps to help make that transport time a little shorter (or at least a little less draining).

1) Waze

This community based traffic and navigation app provides turn by turn navigation to help you find the quickest way to work every day, based on current traffic conditions. Waze users report traffic jams and accidents to the community, helping you save time and gas money. The community goodwill also helps relieve some mental frustration during the drive (iOS, Android).

2) Pocket

Pocket is a free clipboard style app that easily helps you tag articles to read later. Great to save articles you find during the day for the public transit commute. Once it’s in Pocket, you don’t need an Internet connection to access the article (perfect for the train or subway). You can clip articles directly from your browser or from social media. The app syncs between your phone, tablet and laptop so it’s easy to keep track of what you’ve already read (free, iOS, Android).

3) Songza

Songza is a free music streaming and recommendation app that you can use from any of your devices. The app takes the work out of choosing songs for a playlist, letting you instead choose music based on the time of day and your mood. For example, as I write this, I’m listening to a “Late Monday Morning” playlist for “Boosting Energy.” I could have chosen “Enjoying the Morning” or “Taking A Sunny Stroll” as well. Sure beats remembering artists and creating my own individualized playlists (free, iOS, Android).

4) Inrix Traffic

This free traffic app maps out the freeways for you before you leave work or home, letting you choose the quickest way home. You can see photos of the road conditions, send messages to loved ones with your arrival times and find the cheapest gas options (free, iOS, Android, Windows phone, Blackberry).

5) GasBuddy

GasBuddy is a quick, easy way to find the cheapest gas around – from wherever you are. From the home page, hit “Find Gas Near Me” and see where prices are lowest. Prices are user-reported; to motivate users to report gas prices, GasBuddy gives away prepaid gas cards weekly (free, iOs, Android, Windows phone, Blackberry).

6) Hopstop

Traveling to a new city for work or play can be disorienting. Hopstop makes it easy to get accurate, reliable directions no matter where you go. The app comes equipped with walking, biking, public transit, taxi and car rental information to easily navigate new places (free, iOS, Android, Windows).

7) iNextBus

Have you ever been stuck waiting for a bus in the cold and wishing you knew if you had time to run in and grab a cup of coffee? Enter NextBus, an app that shows you where buses are in real time. You can check when the next bus will arrive, bookmark your favorite stops and know exactly when to head out the door in the morning (free, iOS, Android).

Comments

comments