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Reliability of travel times

Hi, how reliable are the travel times provided by mapping services (e.g. Google Maps, Waze) for Los Angeles traffic? Obviously, they can't be 100% accurate, but are they close enough?

What map service do you recommend for driving in Los Angeles?

Thanks!

Travel times in Los Angeles can be highly variable due to the city’s notorious traffic congestion. Mapping services like Google Maps and Waze provide real-time estimates based on current traffic data, historical trends, and reports from users, but they are not perfectly precise. You can generally rely on them for planning purposes, but it’s important to allow extra time, especially during peak traffic periods such as weekday mornings (6–10 AM) and evenings (3–7 PM).

In practice, these services are often accurate within 10–20 minutes for typical trips, but incidents like accidents, road closures, or unusually heavy congestion can add unexpected delays.

Some considerations when using mapping services in LA:

  • Google Maps: Offers reliable real-time traffic updates, alternative route suggestions, and integration with calendar events. It’s particularly good for longer trips across the city.
  • Waze: Focuses heavily on crowdsourced, real-time traffic information. It often provides faster reroutes around accidents or slowdowns, which can save time during peak hours.
  • Apple Maps: Has improved considerably in recent years and provides fairly accurate travel times, but Waze and Google Maps are generally preferred for LA traffic.

Tips for driving in Los Angeles:

  • Check traffic updates right before departure, as conditions can change quickly.
  • Allow at least 15–30 minutes extra during rush hours when estimating travel times.
  • Consider leaving earlier or later than peak periods when possible to avoid the worst congestion.
  • For repeated commutes or trips, Waze’s rerouting feature can sometimes save significant time.

Overall, Google Maps and Waze are the most reliable tools for navigating LA traffic, but always treat the times as estimates and build in buffer time, particularly if you have flights or timed appointments.

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