Coord feeds real-time transportation info into navigation apps

Google Maps might plot the fastest route to your destination, but it doesn't tell you the smartest (or cheapest) place to park. Coord wants to fix that by supplying parking, toll and parking information for companies to plug into their other apps and services using an API.

Ever notice some navigation apps giving you limited options -- or suspiciously supplying only one ride-hailing service? Coord also bundles in multiple transportation options, which will soon include those that haven't made it into mainstream apps, like bike-sharing and car-sharing. It can also provide data to help services book transportation methods within their app.

But it also includes less common data about the city -- for example, identifying legal pick-up and drop-off zones for ride-sharing drivers or provide time-sensitive toll and parking information. Ideally, a service will plug into Coord's data hose and provide an end-to-end navigation projection that lets users sift through options and see a cost estimate for the entire trip.

Someday, services will be able to plug in to smart cities like those Google's Sidewalk Labs wants to build. But for now, Coord could give platforms small and large holistic understanding of transit between and within urban areas.

Update: A previous version of this article stated that Coord also provided 'Google Maps-style' navigation information; It does not. We regret the error.