Skip to main content

OnStar launches traffic avoidance service in China

In a bid to help its 500,000 subscribers avoid traffic, Shanghai OnStar, the Chinese joint venture between General Motors, SAIC, and Shanghai GM, has announced the launch of a new feature. Aptly named Avoid Traffic, the service is an improvement to turn-by-turn navigation that utilises real-time traffic information to route users around traffic congestion via OnStar’s familiar turn-by-turn voice commands.
November 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
In a bid to help its 500,000 subscribers avoid traffic, 6889 Shanghai OnStar, the Chinese joint venture between 948 General Motors, 6890 SAIC, and Shanghai 1959 GM, has announced the launch of a new feature.

Aptly named Avoid Traffic, the service is an improvement to turn-by-turn navigation that utilises real-time traffic information to route users around traffic congestion via OnStar’s familiar turn-by-turn voice commands.

Using Avoid Traffic is similar to having an on-board traffic assistant: users simply send OnStar a destination and the service determines the best route based on current traffic conditions. Users can also call in to live OnStar advisors who can optimise a route for optimal traffic conditions. Unlike other, more traditional navigation systems offered by competitors, the maps included in OnStar will be updated every three months for the most up-to-date road information.

Avoid Traffic is currently only available Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen; it will become available in other cities across China in the coming months.

Related Content

  • May 30, 2013
    Apps help passengers avoided overcrowded public transport
    David Crawford reviews innovations in the comfort zone. Anyone who rides public transport knows that, perhaps second only to delays, overcrowding is a critical part of the passenger experience,” says Nir Erez, CEO of Moovit, the Israel-based social transportation app developer. The app is aimed at taking real-time user feedback on transit and making it available to a wider audience of travellers. Currently available on iPhone and Android, it plans to add Windows 8 and other platforms in the future. Moovit i
  • June 6, 2012
    Nokia announcement is game changer for global navigation industry
    Nokia has announced plans to release a new version of Ovi Maps for its smartphones that includes high-end walk and drive navigation at no extra cost, available for download at www.nokia.com/maps. This move has the potential to nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market.The new version of Ovi Maps includes high-end car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries, as well as de
  • June 1, 2016
    TomTom provides flexibility for Riyadh
    With five years of traffic disruption ahead and an inadequate traffic monitoring system, the authorities in Riyadh needed a solution – and quickly. In preparation for embarking on what is currently the world’s largest metro construction project, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) in Riyadh needed to put in place measures to minimise the additional congestion and travel delays the five-year project would inevitably cause.
  • September 14, 2023
    Qualcomm: How Connected Driving Will Reduce Emissions in the EU
    In an era marked by climate change and an urgent need for greener mobility solutions, the advent of connected driving has emerged as a promising frontier in the realm of transportation.