Map quest is a free website online that provides web mapping and other services. Interested people can use it to map out their trips and get directions with ease. It was launched in Chicago, Illinois in 1996 but moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania later on. America Online, the internet services giant owns the site and it is one of their often visited. Boulder, Colorado was the corporations new home as of the middle 2000s. In the mid 80s, a corporation specializing in cartography commenced making maps using high-level computer systems designed for their consumers. Much of the system used for creating these roadmaps was used later when Mapquest.com was launched by the group in 1996. The corporation, to build a little added interest for the website, changed its name to MapQuest a few years later. They afterward sold the entire site and business in 2000 to AOL. MapQuest consumers are provided with up to date guidelines, satellite imagery, and user friendly formats. There are alternatives to picture out routes from a street view as well. The site’s street view is useful especially if customers are searching for detailed appearance at the places they desire be arriving at. These elements of the site come in handy for individuals who are walking to their destination as well. The innovative route building tool enables people to easily and quickly put as one a traveling route. With it, they can add subsequent stops and breaks as well. Just add the stops in, whether they are hotels, gas stations, or pit stops, using the user friendly menus, and MapQuest will automatically hint the best route. Gasoline prices, crucial information to virtually all automobile owners at present, can be factored into a road trip too. The practical site, when prompted to, will name the quickest paths to go and the cheapest gasoline costs along the way. It does this via knowing various local gas rates in numerous different areas and updating the information quite a few times each week. The helpful site also saves previously used and searched for destinations. This feature of it means a lot less typing and searching for users. Locations such as an out of town home of a relative, that city restaurant, and your home’s address will be ready and saved for the next they are needed. For the users, this can save a lot of time. Previous year, the company launched its state of the art application for mobile phones. The application is downloaded onto a smart phone and enables users to use it just like the site. It features turn by turn navigation, live traffic updates, and auto reroute. The application is fully free of charge and efficiently turns any mobile phone into a two 100 dollar universal positioning device. Map Quest’s features permit consumers to immediately locate quite a bit further than just directions. The site has all the tools you need to get to almost any destination carefully, quickly, and effectively. The route builder, traffic maps, and gas price tool will make driving in both new and well-known places much much easier.