At the Blue E blog we’ve been amazed how many people we know have been left stranded by the Volcanic Ash cloud from Iceland. Even 11 days later, we still know of friends and relatives stuck in as exotic locations as Thailand, Egypt and Morocco.
Those that have made it home have talked about the community spirit from stranded holiday makers, but also the worry of lack of control over their holiday and having to carefully plan their trip home with their family in tow. Stranded without a sat-nav or even a local map in hand, how do you plan a trip home that you never intended on making?
We’re very proud that Bing maps route planner has really come into its own this past week. Just imagine you’re stranded Tipperary in Ireland and trying to get to Chelmsford, Essex. A quick tap of your location and where you want to get to in Bing maps brings up a 63 step list of instructions on which roads to take in this 484 mile journey. Bing directs you all the way to the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead Ferry and even recommends checking the timetable for the ferry. All you need to do, is:
- Direct IE8 over to http://www.bing.com/maps/ and click through to the route planner.
- Just tap in where you are and where you want to go, handily signalled as ‘from A to B’
- Choose if you’re using your car or walking. And click ‘get directions’. And… that’s it.
You can click specific steps on the left hand side to see the map zoom into the exact road you should be on. And you can ask to see the quickest route, which might not all always be the shortest as the bird fly’s. To take your directions on the move with you, a link at the bottom allows you to send the details to yourself by e-mail or to you’re your mobile phone as a link.
The Ash cloud has shown us how we have come to rely on Planes so much, but it’s a great that by knowing a few tips on using Bing you can decide to get home on your own. This week our theme on the Blue E blog is travel – however you get around. So later on this week we’ll be welcoming MSN’s Life & Style Editor Nicole O’Neil who will be telling us about her training for the London Marathon.
