Displaying road traffic condition information and user controls

Abstract

Techniques are described for displaying or otherwise providing information to users regarding various types of road traffic condition information in various ways. The information may be provided, for example, as part of a user interface (or “UI”), which may in some situations further include one or more types of user-selectable controls to allow a user to manipulate in various ways what road traffic condition information is displayed and/or how the information is displayed. A variety of types of road traffic condition information may be presented to users in various manners, including by presenting information on graphically displayed maps for geographic areas to indicate various information about road conditions in the geographic area. In addition, provided controls may allow users to select particular times, select particular routes, indicate to perform animation of various types of changing traffic conditions over a sequence of multiple successive times, etc.

1 . A method for a computing system to automatically present information to users relating to comparative traffic conditions on roads so as to facilitate travel on the roads, the method comprising: 
 receiving information describing a network of roads in a geographic area;    identifying multiple segments of the roads in the network for which traffic conditions are distinctly tracked, the tracked traffic conditions including traffic speeds of vehicles traveling on the road segments;    receiving requests from one or more users that are each for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for one or more of the road segments; and    in response to each of the requests, displaying information to the user from whom the request was received to indicate the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the request, by 
 for each of the one or more road segments for the request, determining comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time for the request by comparing actual average traffic speeds on the road segment at the selected time to expected average traffic speeds that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the determined comparative traffic conditions including a determined one of multiple predefined levels of difference between the actual and expected traffic conditions at the selected time and including a numeric difference in traffic speed at the selected time between the actual and expected average traffic speeds;  
 providing a user interface to the user that includes a displayed map corresponding to at least a portion of the geographic area, the map including displayed representations of the one or more road segments for the request such that the displayed representation of each road segment includes an associated displayed indication of the numeric traffic speed difference for the road segment at the selected time and includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment at the selected time, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation;  
 for each of the one or more road segments, providing visual indications on the map of multiple predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time; and  
 providing user-selectable controls as part of the user interface to allow the user to update the displayed map, the provided user-selectable controls including a time slider control to select a new time for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, and including one or more time sequence manipulation controls to control a sequence of multiple selected times for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, so that users may receive and control displays of information that include comparative traffic conditions indicating differences from normal traffic conditions for segments of roads in a geographic area.  
   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving one or more indications that are each of a selection by a user of a user-selectable control that is part of a user interface provided to the user, and updating the provided user interface in response to the received indications from the user.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein, for each of the provided user interfaces, the provided time slider control includes a user-manipulatable time indicator that moves among multiple distinct positions each corresponding to a distinct time such that a user may specify a selected time by moving the time indicator to a selected position whose corresponding time is the selected time, and at least one of the provided one or more time sequence manipulation controls each being such that a single selection by a user of the at least one control indicates to automatically perform without further user interaction the displaying of information to indicate traffic conditions for one or more road segments at each of multiple successive selected times, the at least one controls each representing at least one of a play control to initiate an animated display of the information about the traffic conditions at each of the multiple successive selected times, a fast forward control to initiate a high-speed animated display of the information about the traffic conditions at each of the multiple successive selected times, and a reverse control to initiate a backward animated display of the information about the traffic conditions at each of the multiple successive selected times such that each successive selected time other than a first of the successive selected times is earlier than a prior one of the successive selected times.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein, for each of the provided user interfaces, the provided visual indications on the map of the multiple predicted traffic conditions for a road segment during a next hour includes a displayed circle with multiple sectors reflecting multiple distinct periods of time during the next hour that correspond to differing predicted traffic conditions for the road segment, such that the displayed circle includes distinct visual representations for the multiple predicted traffic conditions for each of the distinct periods of time.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein one of the received requests is for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for a route between two locations in the geographic area such that the one or more road segments for the one request include a series of multiple road segments along the route, wherein a first of the road segments in the series is associated with a first time such that the indicated traffic conditions for the first road segment correspond to the first time, and wherein each other road segment in the series is associated with a distinct time later than the associated time for a prior road segment in the series such that the indicated traffic conditions for the other road segment reflect traffic conditions at the distinct later time, the distinct later time that is associated with an other road segment differing from the associated time for the prior road segment by an amount that corresponds to an expected amount of time to traverse the prior road segment at the associated time for the prior road segment.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein one of the received requests is for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for a route between two locations in the geographic area such that the one or more road segments for the one request include a series of multiple road segments along the route, and wherein the displaying of the information that indicates the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the one request is part of providing information about a comparison of actual travel conditions for the route at the selected time to expected travel conditions for the route at the selected time.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein one of the received requests is for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for a route between two locations in the geographic area such that the one or more road segments for the one request include a series of multiple road segments along the route, and wherein the provided user interface for the one request is further for displaying a graph corresponding to total travel times for the route at each of multiple times during a period of time, the graph including a first line indicating actual and/or predicted total travel times for the route at the multiple times and a second line indicating expected total travel times that are normal for the route at the multiple times.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein, for one of the received requests, the displaying of the information that indicates the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the one request includes displaying information about actual and/or predicted traffic conditions at the selected time that do not reflect a comparison to any other traffic conditions.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein one of the received requests is further for information about traffic conditions for one or more road segments at multiple selected times, and the displaying of the information that indicates the traffic conditions for the one or more road segments for the one request is further performed for each of the multiple selected times.  
   
   
       10 . A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising: 
 providing a user interface for displaying a map corresponding to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;    receiving an indication of a selected time; and    for each of at least some of the multiple road segments, providing information about comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time by, 
 determining expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time;  
 determining target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the target traffic conditions reflecting actual traffic conditions on the road segment;  
 determining a level of difference between the target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time and the expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the determined difference level being one of multiple predefined difference levels; and  
 providing an indication of the determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time such that the displayed representation of the road segment on the displayed map in the user interface includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation.  
   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the providing of the user interface and the providing of the indications of the determined difference levels for the at least some road segments for the selected time include displaying the map to a user in such a manner as to include visual representations of the determined difference levels for the at least some road segments.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the providing of the user interface and the providing of the indications of the determined difference levels for the at least some road segments for the selected time include sending information to each of one or more remote client computing devices in such a manner that each of the one or more remote client computing devices displays the map to a user of the client computing device.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the providing of the user interface includes providing one or more user-selectable controls to allow a user to indicate a selected time, the one or more controls including a time slider control with a user-manipulatable time indicator that moves among multiple distinct positions each corresponding to a distinct time, such that the user may specify the selected time by moving the time indicator to a selected position whose corresponding time is the selected time.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the comparative traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the selected time, receiving an indication of a new selected time based on user manipulation of the time indicator of the time slider control, and updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the new selected time.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the information about the traffic conditions that is provided for each of the at least some road segments reflects comparative traffic conditions to indicate differences between target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the providing of the user interface includes providing one or more user-selectable controls to allow a user to indicate a future selected time, such that the displayed map is updated to reflect the future selected time in order to provide information about traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the future selected time.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the providing of the user interface includes providing one or more user-selectable time sequence manipulation controls such that a single selection by a user of one of the time sequence manipulation controls indicates to automatically perform without further user interaction the providing of information about traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at each of multiple successive selected times.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the information about the traffic conditions that is provided for each of the at least some road segments reflects comparative traffic conditions to indicate differences between target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the comparative traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the selected time, receiving an indication of a single selection by the user of the one time sequence manipulation control, and without further interaction by the user, updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions at each of the multiple successive selected times for each of the at least some road segments.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the one time sequence manipulation control represents at least one of a play control to initiate an animated display of the information about the traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at each of the multiple successive selected times, a fast forward control to initiate a high-speed animated display of the information about the traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at each of the multiple successive selected times, and a reverse control to initiate a backward animated display of the information about the traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at each of the multiple successive selected times such that each successive selected time other than a first of the successive selected times is earlier than a prior one of the successive selected times.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the providing of the one or more user-selectable time sequence manipulation controls includes providing one or more additional user-manipulatable controls to allow indication of a period of time, such that the multiple successive selected times occur during the indicated period of time.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising, for each of one or more of the multiple road segments, providing information for display on the map about predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time, the provided information reflecting multiple distinct periods of time during the next hour that correspond to differing predicted traffic conditions for the road segment, so that a visual representation of a circle may be displayed for the road segment that represents the next hour and that includes distinct visual representations for the corresponding predicted traffic conditions for each of the distinct periods of time.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the information about the predicted traffic conditions that is provided for each of the one or more road segments reflects comparative traffic conditions to indicate differences between target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the comparative traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the selected time, updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at a new selected time, the updating of the displayed map including providing information about predicted traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments during a new next hour following the new selected time.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising, for each of one or more of the multiple road segments, providing information for display on the map about predicted traffic conditions for the road segment for each of multiple distinct future periods of time that correspond to differing predicted traffic conditions for the road segment, so that distinct visual representations for the corresponding predicted traffic conditions for the multiple distinct periods of time are simultaneously displayed.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the at least some road segments correspond to a series of road segments along a route between two locations in the geographic area, and wherein the provided user interface is further for displaying a second map corresponding to traffic conditions along the route over a period of time, the second map including displayed representations of the at least some road segments and including displayed indications of traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments, a first of the road segments in the series associated with a first time such that the indicated traffic conditions for the first road segment reflect traffic conditions at the first time, each other road segment in the series associated with a distinct time later than the associated time for a prior road segment in the series such that the indicated traffic conditions for the other road segment reflect traffic conditions at the distinct later time, the distinct later time associated with an other road segment differing from the associated time for the prior road segment by an amount that corresponds to an expected amount of time to traverse the prior road segment at the associated time for the prior road segment.  
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 26  wherein the displayed indications of traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments on the second map reflect comparative traffic conditions to indicate differences between target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising displaying the indications of the traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments on the second map in an animated manner, such that the indication of the traffic conditions for the first of the road segments are displayed first, and such that the indications of the traffic conditions for each of the other road segments are successively displayed after completion of display of the indication of the traffic conditions for a prior of the road segments.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the traffic conditions for the at least some road segments include average traffic speeds, and wherein, for each of the at least some road segments, the providing of the indication of the determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time includes providing an indication of a numeric traffic speed difference between actual and expected average traffic speeds for the road segment at the selected time for display on the map, such that the displayed representation of the road segment on the map in the user interface has an associated displayed indication of the numeric traffic speed difference for the road segment.  
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the comparative traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the selected time, receiving an indication of a new selected time and updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at the new selected time that includes an indication of numeric speed information for the road segment at the new selected time.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising, for each of one or more of the multiple road segments, providing information about non-comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time for display on the map, the provided non-comparative traffic conditions information including a numeric traffic condition measurement that reflects actual and/or predicted traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the at least some road segments correspond to road segments along a route between two locations in the geographic area, and wherein the providing of the indications of the determined difference levels for the at least some road segments for the selected time is part of providing information about a comparison of actual travel conditions for the route at the selected time to expected travel conditions for the route at the selected time.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the at least some road segments correspond to road segments along a route between two locations in the geographic area, and further comprising providing indications of the target traffic conditions for the at least some road segments for the selected time for display on the map.  
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the at least some road segments correspond to road segments along a route between two locations in the geographic area, and wherein the provided user interface is further for displaying a graph corresponding to total travel times for the route at each of multiple times during a period of time, the graph including indications of actual and/or predicted total travel times for the route at the multiple times and including indications of expected total travel times that are normal for the route at the multiple times.  
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the expected traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments for the selected time include forecasted traffic conditions information based on use of at least one predictive model whose input information includes information about conditions affecting traffic on the road segments, the input information including multiple of a time-of-day for the selected time, a day-of-week for the selected time, a month-of-year for the selected time, a holiday schedule, and a school schedule, and the input information not including information about current conditions at a time of generating the forecasted traffic conditions, the current conditions including current traffic conditions, current weather conditions, and current traffic incidents.  
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the determining of the expected traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments for the selected time includes generating the expected traffic conditions based at least in part on use of the at least one predictive models.  
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the determined target traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments represent actual traffic conditions on the road segment at the selected time, and wherein the determining of the target traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments includes obtaining from one or more sources multiple measurements of actual traffic conditions on the road segment that are taken within a predetermined amount of time from the selected time and aggregating the multiple obtained measurements.  
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 37  wherein the selected time is a current time.  
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the selected time is a future time, and wherein the determined target traffic conditions for each of one or more of the at least some road segments include predictions of future traffic conditions at the selected future time for the road segment, the predicted future traffic conditions being based at least in part on current and/or past actual traffic conditions on the road segment.  
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 39  wherein the determining of the target traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments for the selected time includes generating the predicted future traffic conditions at the selected future time for the road segment based at least in part on use of at least one predictive model whose input information includes information about conditions affecting traffic on the road segments, the input information including information about current conditions at a time of generating the predicted future traffic conditions, the current conditions including current traffic conditions, current weather conditions, and current traffic incidents, the input information further including multiple of a time-of-day for the selected time, a day-of-week for the selected time, a month-of-year for the selected time, a holiday schedule, and a school schedule.  
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the expected traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments for the selected time include information about historical average traffic conditions based on an aggregation of actual traffic conditions that have been previously observed on the road segment.  
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the expected traffic conditions for each of the road segments include expected average traffic speed for the road segment, and wherein the target traffic conditions for each of the road segments reflect actual average traffic speed for the road segment.  
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the expected traffic conditions for each of the road segments include expected traffic volume for the road segment during a period of time, and wherein the target traffic conditions for each of the road segments reflect actual traffic volume for the road segment during the period of time.  
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the expected traffic conditions for each of the road segments include expected traffic occupancy percentage for at least one location of the road segment during a period of time, and wherein the target traffic conditions for each of the road segments reflect actual traffic occupancy percentage for at least one location of the road segment during the period of time.  
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the selected time includes an indication of a day and of a time-of-day, wherein the provided user interface includes one or more time controls for selecting a time for which traffic condition information is displayed, and wherein the received indication of the selected time is based on use of the one or more time controls.  
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the provided user interface includes one or more time controls for selecting a time for which traffic condition information is displayed, and further comprising, after receiving an indication of a new selected time based on use of the one or more time controls, updating the displayed representations of the at least some road segments on the displayed map to reflect traffic conditions at the new selected time.  
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the distinct visual representations of the multiple predefined difference levels include a distinct color for each of the multiple predefined difference levels, such that the displayed representation of a road segment on the displayed map in the user interface is shown in a color that corresponds to the determined difference level for the road segment.  
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the multiple predefined difference levels include a level corresponding to substantially no difference, at least one level corresponding to being better than normal by at least a predetermined amount, and at least one level corresponding to being worse than normal by at least a predetermined amount.  
   
   
       49 . A computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing device to automatically provide information relating to traffic conditions on roads, by performing a method comprising: 
 providing information for display to one or more users regarding traffic conditions at one or more selected times for one or more of multiple road segments by, for each of the one or more road segments and each of the one or more selected times, 
 determining a level of difference between target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time and expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the target traffic conditions reflecting at least one of actual and predicted traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time; and  
 providing an indication of the determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time.  
   
   
   
       50 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein the method further comprises providing a user interface for displaying representations of the one or more road segments, and wherein the displayed representation of each of the one or more road segments includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment.  
   
   
       51 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 50  wherein the providing of the user interface includes displaying to each of one or more users a map corresponding to at least a portion of a geographic area in which the one or more road segments are located, the map including displayed representations of road segments in the geographic area that include the displayed representations of the one or more road segments.  
   
   
       52 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 51  wherein the determined difference level for each of the one or more road segments is one of multiple predefined difference levels, and wherein each of the multiple predefined difference levels has a distinct displayed visual representation on the map.  
   
   
       53 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 50  wherein the displayed visual representation of the determined difference level for each of the one or more road segments includes a numeric indicator that reflects an amount of the difference.  
   
   
       54 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein one of the selected times is a substantially current time, and wherein the target traffic conditions for each of the one or more road segments at the one selected time reflect actual traffic conditions at one or more times within a predetermined amount of time from the one selected time.  
   
   
       55 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein the selected times include multiple times within a period of time, such that the providing of the information for display regarding the traffic conditions at the selected times indicates changes in the traffic conditions during the period of time.  
   
   
       56 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein the computer-readable medium is at least one of a memory of a computing device and a data transmission medium transmitting a generated data signal containing the contents.  
   
   
       57 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein the contents are instructions that when executed cause the computing device to perform the method.  
   
   
       58 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 49  wherein the contents include one or more data structures for use in providing information regarding traffic conditions for road segments, the data structure comprising multiple entries that each correspond to one of the road segments and one of the selected times and contain the indicated determined difference level for the road segment for the selected time.  
   
   
       59 . A computing device configured to provide information related to traffic conditions on roads, comprising: 
 a memory; and    a first component configured to, for each of one or more road segments, display information regarding traffic conditions at one or more selected times for the road segment, the displayed information for each of at least one of the one or more road segments and for each of at least one of the one or more selected times indicating a level of difference between first and second sets of traffic conditions data for the road segment for the selected time, the data of the first and second sets being for a same type of traffic condition but being generated in distinct manners such that at least one of the first and second sets reflects expected traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time.    
   
   
       60 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein, for one of the road segments and one of the selected times for which the displayed information reflects a level of difference between first and second sets of traffic conditions data for the road segment for the selected time, the first and second sets of the traffic conditions data are target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, and the target traffic conditions reflecting at least one of actual and predicted traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time.  
   
   
       61 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the first component is further configured to provide a user interface via which the displayed information is presented, the displayed information include visual representations of the one or more road segments that indicate the difference levels for the road segments.  
   
   
       62 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the displayed information is part of a displayed map corresponding to at least a portion of a geographic area in which the one or more road segments are located, the displayed map being displayed on a display of the computing device to a user of the computing device.  
   
   
       63 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the displaying of the information regarding the traffic conditions includes sending the information regarding the traffic conditions to one or more remote computing devices for display.  
   
   
       64 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the first component is a user interface manager system.  
   
   
       65 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the first component includes software instructions for execution in the memory of the computing device.  
   
   
       66 . The computing device of  claim 59  wherein the first component consists of means for, for each of one or more of multiple segments of multiple roads in a geographic area, displaying information regarding traffic conditions at one or more selected times for the road segment, the displayed information for each of at least one of the one or more road segments and for each of at least one of the one or more selected times indicating a level of difference between first and second sets of traffic conditions data for the road segment for the selected time, the data of the first and second sets being for a same type of traffic condition but being generated in distinct manners such that at least one of the first and second sets reflects expected traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time.  
   
   
       67 . A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising: 
 providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;    providing one or more user-selectable controls to allow a user to select a time for which information about traffic conditions for at least some of the multiple road segments is to be displayed on the map, the one or more controls including a time slider control with a user-manipulatable time indicator that moves among multiple distinct positions each corresponding to a distinct time point, such that a user may specify the selected time by moving the time indicator to a selected position whose corresponding time point is the selected time; and    after receiving an indication of a selected time from a user, providing information about traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments for display on the map.    
   
   
       68 . The method of  claim 67  wherein the selected time is a past time, and wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes information about actual traffic conditions at the selected past time.  
   
   
       69 . The method of  claim 67  wherein the selected time is a future time, and wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes information about predicted traffic conditions at the selected future time.  
   
   
       70 . The method of  claim 67  wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes comparative information indicating differences between actual traffic conditions at the selected time and expected traffic conditions at the selected time.  
   
   
       71 . The method of  claim 67  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the traffic conditions at the selected time, receiving an indication of a new selected time based on user manipulation of the time indicator of the time slider control, and updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at the new selected time.  
   
   
       72 . The method of  claim 67  wherein the providing of the information about the traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments includes displaying to one or more users the provided information on the map.  
   
   
       73 . The method of  claim 67  wherein the providing of the map for display includes providing a user interface for displaying the map, the provided user interface including the provided user-selectable controls.  
   
   
       74 . A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising: 
 providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of roads in the geographic area;    providing information about traffic conditions at a selected time for each of at least some of the road segments for display on the map; and    for each of one or more of the at least some road segments, providing information for display on the map about predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time, the provided information reflecting multiple distinct periods of time during the next hour that correspond to differing predicted traffic conditions for the road segment, so that a visual representation of a circle may be displayed for the road segment that represents the next hour and that includes distinct visual representations for the corresponding predicted traffic conditions for each of the distinct periods of time.    
   
   
       75 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the selected time is a past time, and wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes information about actual traffic conditions at the selected past time.  
   
   
       76 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the selected time is a future time, and wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes information about predicted traffic conditions at the selected future time.  
   
   
       77 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the provided information about the traffic conditions at the selected time includes comparative information indicating differences between actual traffic conditions at the selected time and expected traffic conditions at the selected time.  
   
   
       78 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the information about the predicted traffic conditions that is provided for each of the one or more road segments reflects comparative traffic conditions to indicate differences between target and expected traffic conditions for the road segment.  
   
   
       79 . The method of  claim 74  further comprising, after the providing of the information about the traffic conditions at the selected time for the at least some road segments, updating the displayed map to provide information about traffic conditions for the at least some road segments at a new selected time, the updating of the displayed map including providing information about predicted traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments during a new next hour following the new selected time.  
   
   
       80 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the providing of the map for display includes providing a user interface for displaying the map, the provided user interface including one or more user-selectable controls to allow one or more users to modify traffic conditions information that is provided for display on the map.  
   
   
       81 . The method of  claim 74  wherein the providing of the information about the predicted traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the one or more road segments includes displaying to one or more users the provided predicted traffic conditions information on the map, and wherein the providing of the information about the traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments for display on the map includes displaying to the one or more users the provided traffic conditions information on the map.  
   
   
       82 . A computer-implemented method for providing information relating to traffic conditions on roads, the method comprising: 
 providing a map for display that corresponds to at least a portion of a geographic area, the map including displayed representations of multiple segments of one or more roads in the geographic area;    identifying a route of interest between at least two locations in the geographic area, the route including at least some of the multiple road segments whose displayed representations are included on the map; and    for each of the at least some of the road segments, providing information about comparative traffic conditions at a selected time for the road segment for display on the map, the comparative traffic conditions information indicating differences between actual and/or predicted traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment and expected traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment.    
   
   
       83 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the at least some road segments are a subset of the multiple road segments whose displayed representations are included on the map, and wherein the representations of the at least some road segments are displayed in a manner distinct from the displayed representations of the other of the multiple road segments, so as to visually emphasize the route through a network of multiple roads displayed on the map.  
   
   
       84 . The method of  claim 82  further comprising automatically determining the comparative traffic conditions at the selected time for the at least some road segments by, for each of the at least some road segments, 
 determining the expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, the expected traffic conditions reflecting traffic conditions that are normal for the road segment at the selected time;    determining target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time that correspond to the actual and/or predicted traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment;    determining whether a difference exists between the target traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time and the expected traffic conditions for the road segment for the selected time, and    wherein the provided information about the comparative traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments includes an indication of whether a determined difference exists for the road segment.    
   
   
       85 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the provided information about the comparative traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments includes an indication of one of multiple predefined determined levels of difference that reflects the differences between the actual and/or predicted traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment and the expected traffic conditions at the selected time for the road segment, such that the displayed representation of the road segment on the displayed map in the user interface includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation.  
   
   
       86 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the provided information about the comparative traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments includes an indication of a determined numeric difference between actual and/or predicted average traffic speeds at the selected time for the road segment and expected average traffic speeds at the selected time for the road segment, such that the displayed representation of the road segment on the displayed map in the user interface includes an associated visual indication of the determined numeric difference for the road segment.  
   
   
       87 . The method of  claim 82  further comprising providing information for display on the map about comparative travel times for vehicles traveling the route at the selected time, the comparative travel time information indicating differences between actual and/or predicted vehicle travel times at the selected time for the route and expected vehicle travel times at the selected time for the route.  
   
   
       88 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the selected time is a past time, and wherein the comparative traffic conditions information for the selected time is based on information about actual traffic conditions at the selected past time.  
   
   
       89 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the selected time is a future time, and wherein the comparative traffic conditions information for the selected time is based on information about predicted traffic conditions at the selected future time.  
   
   
       90 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the selected times for the at least some road segments are a single time, such that the provided comparative traffic conditions information for the at least some road segments reflects traffic conditions at the single time.  
   
   
       91 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the selected times for the at least some road segments include multiple successive times for successive road segments in a series of road segments along the route, such that a first of the road segments in the series is associated with a first selected time and such that each other road segment in the series is associated with a distinct selected time later than the associated selected time for a prior road segment in the series, the distinct selected later time associated with an other road segment differing from the associated selected time for the prior road segment by an amount that corresponds to an expected amount of time to traverse the prior road segment at the associated selected time for the prior road segment.  
   
   
       92 . The method of  claim 91  further comprising providing one or more user-selectable time sequence manipulation controls for the map such that a single selection by a user of one of the time sequence manipulation controls indicates to automatically perform without further user interaction a successive providing of information about comparative traffic conditions for each of the at least some road segments at each of multiple successive selected times.  
   
   
       93 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the providing of the map for display includes providing a user interface for displaying the map, the provided user interface including one or more user-selectable controls to allow one or more users to modify traffic conditions information that is provided for display on the map.  
   
   
       94 . The method of  claim 82  wherein the providing of the information about the comparative traffic conditions at the selected time for each of the at least some road segments includes displaying to one or more users the provided comparative traffic conditions information on the map.