Which technology works best when on the road?

SEATTLE, Wash. — Technology eases the many frustrations of Seattle traffic -- and its backups.

Tuesday in KIRO 7 News’ two-week traffic series, we’re examining how technology can help you on your commute, and if navigating maps hold up to its promises.

>> Read and watch our report from Monday about what Washington State Department of Transportation is doing to help shape up rough roads.

KIRO 7 News’ Jeff Dubois talked to users on Facebook and commuters about popular apps, which make a big difference in the morning in evening commute for hundreds of drivers.

Complain about downtown parking?

Street parking spaces have been disappearing for years in downtown Seattle and finding garages in the congestion -- is no easy task.

Downtownseattleparking.com can help you the next time you can't find a place to park.

Downtown Seattle Association started the parking website in 2013. You can search for garages near you, close to popular attractions, and even by the hourly rate.

They negotiated a special $3 hourly rate at 15 garages covering Pioneer Square, Waterfront, retail core.

That’s significantly lower than the rate offered by non-participating garages.

Commuters are finding the site beneficial, and so are businesses.

“It encourages people to come downtown and enjoy everything Pioneer Square has to offer,” says Erin Soldezzo, who runs an art gallery and event space.

She’s had wedding couples put a link to DowntownSeattleParking.com in their wedding announcements.

"It helps put their minds at ease,” said Saldezzo.

And a friendly reminder from KIRO 7 drivers to you, make sure to set your phone down when driving.

The realtime bus schedule in your hands

One Bus Away has been around for a while, but it’s widely considered the app for Seattle bus riders.

One Bus Away uses King County Metro Bus data, which tracks the location of hundreds of buses in real time.

KIRO 7 News asked riders about its reliability. Many call its minute-to-minute information a life changer.

“If you're going to miss that bus, you can walk further down to the next bus stop...beat the bus there to make it on time,” said Tiana Robinson, who commutes from Seattle to Auburn daily.

The app was created by two University of Washington students.

Only complaint from users: One Bus Away doesn’t update in Downtown Transit Tunnel, because of bad call service.

But according to King County Metro and Sound Transit, cell service will be installed in the tunnel within the next year, and customers should be able to use their phones to get transit alerts by mid-2016.

Click here to download for Android | Click here to download for iPhone | Click here to download for Windows.

Maps: Which apps work best?

KIRO 7’s Graham Johnson and Jeff Dubois put four navigation apps to the test: Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, and INRIX. Each had positives and drawbacks.

>> WATCH: Click here for video of Dubois and Johnson’s play-by-play test.

Google versus Apple maps

Google and Apple maps are known as an app staple for interactive mapping on your smartphone. Here’s how we tested it:

• Driving from KIRO 7's studios in Belltown to Husky Stadium, Johnson and Dubois wanted to see which app's suggested route was the fastest.
• Google Maps told Johnson to drive north on Aurora Avenue to 45^th, then west to Husky Stadium.
• Apple Maps suggested Dubois drive Interstate 5 to State Route 520 and over the Montlake Bridge.
• From Belltown to Husky Stadium, Apple Maps got our KIRO 7 News team there 105 seconds faster than Google Maps.

Waze versus INRIX

Dubois and Johnson drove to Northgate Mall from Husky Stadium, using the popular navigation apps by Waze and INRIX, which feature community-based traffic reporting. Here’s how we tested it:

• This time, they both went the same route and tested the accuracy of the arrival time.
• They also checked out the extra features each app had to offer.
  In the end, Waze was one minute off its original arrival time, while INRIX missed by two minutes.
• Johnson said he liked the way INRIX tells users the best time to leave to get to their destination, and lets drivers compare current traffic to normal conditions.

INRIX also taps into the Washington State Department of Transportation’s traffic camera system, so users can see the backup in real time.

The app allows driver to update information helpful to other people using the app.

For instance, Johnson spotted a police officer and was able to tap its location so other users could see where the officer was.

But Johnson said he missed audible turn-by-turn navigation on the INRIX app.

Dubois said Waze also allows users to input information for other drivers to see, such as disabled vehicles, police officers, road closures, etc.

Users can also see other people currently logged-on to the app, as they’re driving. In addition, Waze includes commonly-needed locations like gas stations and restaurants on the map.

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