Travel Time Map

Discover Smappen’s innovative travel time map tool that lets you draw isochrone maps—visual representations of how far you can travel in a set time. Whether you’re planning your daily commute, scouting the best location for your business, or finding the perfect neighborhood, our interactive tool provides real-time data, precise route planning, and actionable insights to help you make smarter decisions.

draw travel time area with Smappen mapping tool
Smappen's character illustration navigating on a map

Drive time... and more!

Depending on the mode of transportation you pick, Smappen looks at lots of criteria (speed limit on each type of road – city, countryside, highway, etc., and draws the area that you can reach when travelling the specified distance or time (minutes or hours).

These travel-time areas are also called isochrones or catchment areas.

Maps based on travel time

By car

By bicycle

On foot

A driving-radius map tool

Use Smappen to draw driving radius maps and get the right answers. Make data-driven decisions with this easy-to-use tool!

Smappen's character illustration creating area on a map

Choose the best location for your business

Smappen provides you with population data on your areas, so that you know which is the best location for your business.

Optimize logistics (delivery, pricing, technicians, etc.)

Save time and money by providing the best-optimized areas for your deliveries or technicians.

Plan your journey, move or visit friends

Just moved to a new city? Friends all over the country? Find where you can get to in a given travel time.

Target your marketing campaigns

Easily extract zip codes from your areas, for the best-targeted campaigns.

Find your next home or job

Want to move, but don’t want to be too far away from your place of work? Smappen shows you the ideal geographic area where you should house-hunt, with a variety of home-to-workplace travel times.

How to Create Travel Time Maps?

Travel time is something that affects us all in many ways, whether it’s how we get to work, the accessibility of healthcare, or even how we plan a fun day out. Being able to understand and visualize travel time can make a huge difference in how we navigate our lives and make decisions.

Behind the scenes, technology and data come together to create what we call “travel time maps.” These maps are more than just visuals – they’re helpful tools that guide us in making choices about where to go, how to get there, and how long it might take.

In this easy-to-follow guide, we’ll explore what travel time is, how it’s mapped out, and how you can use this information to make your day-to-day life more efficient and enjoyable.

Let’s get started!

What is Travel Time?

At its simplest, travel time is how long it takes to go from one place to another. But it’s much more than just minutes or hours on the clock – it impacts our daily routines and decisions. It influences everything from our morning commute to how we spend our free time.

Several factors affect travel time, including your mode of transport, whether walking, driving, or taking public transport, plays a role.

Let’s take a look at how they’re created.

Creating Travel Time Maps

Travel time maps rely on a mix of technology and data. Tools like Smappen, a popular geomarketing platform, use geographic information systems (GIS) to gather data from various sources – traffic info, transportation networks, location data – to create these maps.

Smappen helps people and businesses make informed decisions by calculating and visualizing travel times in an intuitive way. Here’s how you can create this kind of map using Smappen:

  1. Get Started: Visit smappen.com/app/—our interface is intuitive and user-friendly.
  2. Enter your starting point: Input your current address or location.
  3. Set your parameters: Select your travel time (minutes or hours) and choose your mode of transportation—by car, bicycle, or on foot.
  4. Visualize your area: Click “Calculate” to instantly generate your isochrone map and explore the reach of your journey.

Voila! Your travel time map is ready. For more in-depth help, check out the tutorials on Smappen’s site.

Here’s how it looks on Smappen:

isochrone map on Smappen

I enter my company’s or site location and create a 1-hour travel zone around the reference point.

Interpreting Travel Time Maps

Benefits for Users and Businesses

Our travel time maps aren’t just for planning personal trips—they’re a valuable asset for businesses too. For example, when choosing a new store location, our maps reveal where potential customers are within a convenient driving radius. Likewise, logistics companies can optimize delivery routes, and marketers can target campaigns based on clearly defined catchment areas. Our tool’s ability to provide real‑time, precise data reinforces both its practical use and our commitment to quality.

Thanks to user-friendly platforms like Smappen, accessing travel time information is easier than ever. With just a few clicks, you can zoom in on your map, explore different areas, and get a clear picture of travel times in your chosen region. Whether you’re planning your daily commute or deciding where to open a new store, these tools make the process and your day-to-day life a lot simpler!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

A travel time map visually represents how long it takes to travel to different locations from a specific starting point.

This geographic data is used to calculate the estimated time it takes to travel to different areas and presented in an easy-to-understand visual format.

Yes! Tools like Smappen allow you to create travel time maps for free. You can simply enter your starting location, set a travel time, choose your mode of transportation, and generate a map that shows travel times to surrounding areas.

Absolutely! Businesses can use travel time maps to identify the best locations for their stores, offices, or distribution centers. These maps help ensure that they’re in areas where customers and employees can easily access their services, leading to better business outcomes.

Create your travel time map with Smappen