MapQuest App Can Now Find a Tow Truck for You

Nov 11, 2014 02:24 PM EST | Jordan Ecarma

MapQuest has teamed up with a D.C.-based startup called Urgent.ly to become the first navigation app offering roadside assistance at the touch of a button.

"Urgent.ly's model proves consumers are moving toward on-demand structures for everything, including roadside assistance," Nate Abbott, MapQuest's head of product, said in a statement. "This integration allows MapQuest to provide a unique, pioneering service to our users without the inconvenience of antiquated systems."

The membership-free service connects stranded drivers with the closest towing services, giving motorists a breakdown of fees and approximate arrival times, the Denver Post reported. Customers are charged by credit card after the service has been completed.

Acquired by AOL in 2000, MapQuest was once the leading map company but now gets about a third as much traffic as Google Maps. Coming in at second place for web mapping, MapQuest garnered an impressive 35 million to 45 million unique monthly visitors in the past year.

MapQuest additionally ranks third among travel websites, last month seeing 6.1 million unique visitors who spent 3 minutes and 10 seconds on average using the service.

The company has around 20 job openings, most of which are seeking engineers, available at its headquarters in Denver, Colo., according to the Post.

MapQuest's next step will be to revamp its website as the company continues to focus on quality over quantity, Abbott said.

"We came back and instead of hedging our bets with a feature battle, we felt we needed to focus on building phenomenal products," he told the Post.

The app is available from Google, Apple and Amazon's app stores. 

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