All
Motorists to Recieve Free Acess to AAA's Online Mapping and Driving
Directions Through New AAAMaps.com Website
World-class
Travel Information Gives Members and Non-members Alternative to
MapQuest and Other Travel-Planning Sites.
AAA,
the nation's largest organization for motorists, announced plans
to make its world-class routing and mapping technology available
to all Internet users through a new Web site, AAAmaps.com.
AAAmaps.com
leverages AAA's robust Internet TripTik® mapping and routing
technology which the Wall Street Journal called its "Top
Choice" for online mapping services. The new AAAmaps.com
site has many of the same mapping and routing capabilities as
Internet TripTik and includes valuable information from AAA's
extensive database of proprietary travel information, such as
Diamond Ratings for hotels and restaurants unavailable from other
online mapping services.
"AAAmaps.com
is designed to offer Web users quick access to a mapping and travel
planning solution whether they are driving across town or planning
a lengthy driving vacation this summer," said Sandra Hughes,
vice president, AAA Travel.
While
Internet TripTik, which is available only to AAA members, is a
much more comprehensive mapping and trip-planning tool, AAAmaps.com
includes many of the same features and capabilities.
AAAmaps.com
users can select a wide variety of locations from an easy-to-use
drop-down menu or fill in address information, add a stopover
such as an attraction or restaurant, zoom in or out, pan, add
notes or choose to avoid/include tolls or ferries. Travelers can
even compare hotels and reserve a room directly on the AAAmaps.com
site.
"We
believe AAAmaps.com is the link that consumers want and need to
the industry's best mapping and trip planning information at a
time when more people are traveling to their vacation destinations
by car," said Hughes. AAAmaps.com uses state-of-the-art hardware,
software and data to deliver high-quality mapping and routing
results worthy of the AAA brand.
As
North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization,
AAA provides its 47 million members with travel, insurance, financial
and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the
not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate
for the safety and security of all travelers.
AAA
has a long and distinguished history in map-making from
the early days of manual cartography to leading-edge Geographic
Information Systems. Here are a few of the highlights from
the last 100 years.
-
1905
AAA publishes its first map, a street map of Staten Island,
NY, hand drawn in ink on linen.
-
1911
AAA publishes its first European map and Trail to Sunset,
a booklet of strip maps detailing a AAA Pathfinder's route
from New York to Jacksonville. Strip maps are combined
to make what is now known as the famous AAA TripTiks®.
-
1932
AAA trademarks the TripTik®, detailed, routing maps
customized to match the unique itineraries for each traveler.
-
1942
In doing its part to assist in the war effort, AAA places
its mapping facilities at the disposal of the Army department.
-
1983
Scenic highways are identified on AAA's sheet maps for
the first time. Scenic highway designations are an integral
part of AAA mapping and are included on Internet TripTik®
routings.
-
1984
AAA stores more than 13,000 full-color map images on an
optical laser disc for demonstration on an in-car navigation
device in the Chrysler Pavilion at the 1984 Louisiana
World Exposition.
-
1985
The AAA North American Road Atlas is sold in retail outlets
for the first time and makes the New York Times best-seller
paperback list within six weeks.
-
1990
AAA joins the Federal Highway Administration, Avis, General
Motors and the Florida Department of Transportation in
the Smart Car experiment, also known as the TravTek Project.
This test of a computerized in-car navigation and travel
information system proved consumer acceptance of telematics
technology that would make driving easier and reduce traffic
congestion.
-
2000
AAA launches Internet TripTik® on www.aaa.com, allowing
members to get driving directions and plan trips at their
convenience via the Internet.
-
2002
The Wall Street Journal names AAA's Internet TripTik as
its "Top Choice" for online routing products.
-
2004
AAA launches AAAmaps.com, an online mapping and trip planning
service based on Internet TripTik, and available to all
consumers.
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