Using Mapquest can be a real test

Jeff Gapinski, assistant coach for the 12-and-younger soccer team Rage United, has lost faith in Mapquest.

Yes, Mapquest. The quick and convenient Internet mapping service for the directionally challenged.

On Wednesday, because of inaccurate directions listed on Mapquest, half his team, which is based in south Davis County, got lost on the way to a soccer game in Utah County's Mapleton. Most made it with minutes to spare, but the team's regular goalie was late.

Two goals were scored while that goalie was gone. The loss was "maybe partially" because of the Mapquest directions, Gapinski said. "If you don't know anything about an area and rely on their services . . . it makes a difference," he said.

Others relate similar troubles with Mapquest information. The reason? Last spring, the Utah Department of Transportation began a $900,000 adjustment of milepost markers and exit signs on I-15, I-70 and I-80 in six counties: Juab, Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Box Elder.

The adjustment, done to correct several inaccuracies in milepost markers, also meant that exit signs would have to be changed to correspond with the mileposts. Before the correction, nearly 800 markers were incorrect; some were off the mark by as much as three miles.

Problem is, while UDOT initiated a public information campaign to make publishers, mapping service providers, Utah tourism agencies and hotel managers aware of the changes, Mapquest has yet to update its information. UDOT records show that Mapquest was first informed of exit sign changes in mid-December 2004.

Because updates have yet to be made, 85 exit sign numbers in the six impacted counties are listed inaccurately on Mapquest. For example, the exit number for Syracuse (Antelope Island) is listed as 335 on Mapquest. The actual sign number is now 332.

Jim Greiner, director of marketing for Mapquest Inc., said the inaccurate exit numbers were "a pretty big issue" for his company. Glitches on mapquest.com are typically of a smaller magnitude, he said.

"We're pretty sensitive to it," Greiner said. "We are all about serving the users and consumers that rely on mapquest.com and do not want to betray or change that trust. We do everything we can to right whatever is wrong and make it better."

The reason why changes have yet to be made to mapquest.com is because the company has yet to receive updated Utah information from its data providers: Teleatlas and NavTeq. Greiner said it usually takes three months for the data vendors to distribute updated information. Once received, Mapquest will take three to six months to verify the information and post it on its Web site.