DUBAI: At the beginning of the school year, Yango Maps, the feature-rich app for seamless navigation, conducted an in-depth survey among parents residing in Dubai. The aim of the survey was to find out how parents deal with the ‘back-to-school’ season and which critical features they desire in a navigation app to simplify their daily commutes.
The survey reveals that most parents (72%) find preparing for the new school season time-consuming, with 67% starting preparations as early as one to three months in advance. For 73% of respondents, the school their children attend is in another neighborhood, so parents make daily commutes between different areas for school drop-offs and pickups. Most children are taken to school either by school transportation (63%) or by car (40%).
Additionally, children travel to after-school activities two to four days a week, often driven there by their parents as well (67%). Generally, for 60% of respondents, the average travel time from home to school or to after-school activities ranges from 20 to 60 minutes. As a result, when the school season begins, 72% of parents report spending more time driving, making efficient navigation essential for them and their comfort.
The survey reveals that some challenges parents face while driving include road traffic (62%) and finding a parking space (59%). Nearly half of the respondents (49%) also desire a reduced travel time, with 42% emphasizing the importance of accurate arrival time predictions.
The key features parents prioritize for commuting to school and after-school activities are:
Arrival time accuracy and traffic updates. Over half of the respondents (54%) expressed the need for precise arrival time predictions along with real-time traffic updates (prioritized by 49% of respondents). These features are crucial for timely drop-offs and pickups, especially during peak hours when traffic congestion is at its highest. To address this, Yango Maps provides real-time traffic updates in English and Arabic, keeping drivers well-informed.
Convenient parking options. Finding parking spots easily near a destination is highly valued, as cited by 50% of respondents. When driving to a popular place or central district, Yango Maps displays nearby parking options before the user starts driving so they can plan a route straight to a parking spot or drop-off point.
Other features parents prioritize include: a high-detail map of the city (44%) with the necessary information to navigate efficiently, speed limit information (43%), voice notifications, and adaptive views of driving routes (30%). Responding to these needs, Yango Maps offers a true-to-life depiction of Dubai, mapping over 3000 km of roads in high detail, even reflecting lane markings and multi-level interchanges. The app shows turn-by-turn directions, notifying drivers about any speed limits and closures in advance, if any come up along the route.
Alexander Baksheev, Chief Executive Officer of Yango Maps commented: “As Dubai’s back-to-school season kicks off, parents need to efficiently navigate traffic, find convenient parking, and manage their time along their daily commutes. Our survey reveals a strong demand for advanced navigation features, including real-time traffic updates, accurate ETAs, and direct routes to parking spots. At Yango Maps, we offer a comprehensive solution with all these features and more. Apart from navigation, we make it easier to search for places, get directions to them, and discover new corners of the city.”
A striking 93% of parents express a strong interest in a navigation service that offers tailored ‘city guide’ recommendations for family-friendly spots, either along their route or in the city in general. This feature enhances the overall navigation experience by informing parents about the variety of places to explore nearby. Among the top five destinations parents frequent with their children are sports centers, entertainment activities, shopping malls, educational programs, and arts and crafts studios.
As part of its commitment to making life easier for parents, Yango Maps has also created comprehensive guides to family-friendly places to visit in Dubai, including sports and artistic after-school activities for children.
This approach of combining real-time navigation with curated local recommendations reduces some of the added effort associated with the new school season, allowing parents to focus more on their children’s experiences rather than manually searching for places and figuring out the best way there.
Yango Maps is available for free on Google Play and the App Store, with both English and Arabic for the interface and voice directions.
