[SDP]

Originally Posted by msdivy

In Bangalore, Google maps has not been able to factor in the metro construction work. So a 40 minutes journey estimated by Google can turn into 90 minutes.

I can't imagine how that is possible. Permanent issues on a specific road would cause traffic to slow down at all hours and that should reflect in ETA calculations.

[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by Joxster

Thank you for confirming on the availability of the application! I agree that Waze is indeed heavy on battery consumption, but most people keep their phones charging in the car while using navigation, so that's usually not an issue.
Also, I think that the phone tends to heat up more because the map is showing real-time updates constantly, but it shouldn't be a problem so to speak.

Cheers

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

It's very much available in India but I feel the app to be a bit heavy on battery consumption and the phone tends to heat up when compared to Gmaps.

WAZE constantly reads your location even when you are not using app and that also impacts on battery and running temperature of phone. However, Apple changed policy and now iOS enforces the apps to allow users to have control on location sharing (no background location sharing) but not sure how it works on Android though. This has made life very easy on iPhones now.

As far as accuracy is concerned, based on my experience here in USA, Waze is more accurate in terms of providing ETA than Google even though Waze is owned by Google. I have noticed Gmaps are always optimistic by 5-7 minutes over Waze.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by SDP

I can't imagine how that is possible. Permanent issues on a specific road would cause traffic to slow down at all hours and that should reflect in ETA calculations.

Absolutely. Googlemaps apart from a lot other attributes takes into account the density of phones in the same area that are all moving in same direction to ascertain jams.

This was a 'traffic jam' on a tolled road on a recent Sunday morning when people turned out in large numbers to run for a 10K Marathon .



There was absolutely no traffic jam on the highway but the authorities had only blocked one side of the corridor to make way for the runners while the other side was used for 2 way traffic which was moving smoothly anyway. The 10K set up was 5 kms run and take U turn halfway and hence what you notice is a 'Jam' for 5 kms. You can also notice how the other side of the corridor is green.

I took this screenshot out of curiosity and it so well reflects the main ingredient that Google uses to show traffic jams - People with phones.

[turbowhistle]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Absolutely.
===============
I took this screenshot out of curiosity and it so well reflects the main ingredient that Google uses to show traffic jams - People with phones.

Pretty interesting post! Agree on your observation!

Even my experience with Gmaps have been excellent so far! I travel around 100 km daily from One part of Bombay to the other and everytime I make a point of checking the fastest route on Gmaps. It is fairly accurate and the ETA is also correct(maybe 5-10mins here and there based on real time traffic scenarios)
I love the offline feature of Gmaps, makes it very handy if you are traveling in a new area and not sure about the network coverage.

[aniyo]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

Interesting thread. My experience with Google maps has been decent enough.

This is the first time that I heard of HERE maps. Will definitely give it a try.

I have used HERE maps extensively when I had Windows Phone. I used HERE maps offline when I was in Mauritius few months back. We had rented a Micra and the navigation that came along was pathetic. Thankfully I had downloaded Mauritius maps on the HERE maps and used it offline and it was accurate for almost all location.

HERE maps also tell you the speed limit and warns you if you are crossing it. Helped me big time there. I think in India they have lagged a bit in the last couple of years.

[NTO]

Originally Posted by RaSing

My experience with Google Maps has been 95 percent good and 5 percent bad.
I have been using it for last 2 years almost daily for my office commute. With that experience i have concluded the following

I thought of penning down my observations so far and you totally nailed it. Just one additional point. Google maps average time takes multiple real time user's data (can be seen in app permissions) travelling in a similar route. Ola and Uber working on google API are major contributors to it. Sometimes, the cabs engaged to a particular destination, waiting for customers or any other reason adds to the ETA. Hence city ETA is a combination of past data and correction made to this during the course of the journey by pinging the data of real time users in the same route.

I have been in situations where I have been left in the middle of nowhere by google maps during the night and from then on, I stick to major/ fairly known routes when travelling in the night. Highway alternative routes most of the times end up to be a disaster, at least in my experience with G maps.

Other than this, G Maps has been pretty accurate. Especially during long drives as, law of average favors google maps. For example, when I travel from Chennai to Bengaluru, the G maps show a pessimistic ETA of 6 hours +, for a distance of 300 odd Kms, at the start of the trip. I always feel that, I could easily out do the time but, end up reaching Bengaluru in an almost 6 hours time duration. All the breaks that we take along the highway, long queue in tolls add to the total time taken to travel and works in favor of the ETA. G maps actually does not take these into account and divides the distance by the maximum legal speed limit in a weighted manner along the course of the distance. The reason for this could be, not many people use the G maps for the entire duration of the long journeys and hence google may not have sufficient data to exactly predict the ETA for a long distance trip.

[Vitalstatistiks]

In my experience, GMaps started going bad since they :

1. started giving real time route recommendation based on time it will take. Earlier, one could see multiple routes from start to finish, based on distance and time. But now you get only one route at the start of the trip. Based on what Google Baba thinks is best for you. Mid-way it may give you a couple of options, but again based on time and that too if the time is close to the time on the selected route.

2. started collaborating with Uber to show final fare upfront. In the initial days of the collaboration, I could see that maps/directions they provided to Uber were longer and more circuitous than the one on their own app. A few weeks later such anomaly disappeared, and even the Maps app started showing the insane routes. For e.g. near my house there is a right turn, proper legit right turn, which directly spills on to a main road going to the airport. But since Google collaborated with Uber, it does not recognise that right turn anymore. Makes me turn left, drive 5 kms, take a U-turn and come back to the same main road ! I don't believe for a second that GMaps cannot read the right turn suddenly and fully believe that it is part of their collaboration with Uber and its ilk that forces such directions.

On that note, does anyone remember that GMaps came out with an ad campaign recently. An ad campaign ! For GMaps! An app which is already being used by anyone who needs a map and is free, why did it come out with an ad campaign?

[CarJunki]

In Bangalore any map service will struggle. With randomly localized rain (sometimes confined to even few meters), this exacerbates the problem.

[anurag.somani]

Personally, maps work for me 95% of the time.
The major anomaly is during Mumbai monsoons - to predict accurately, Google should also consider how many of us are driving mars rover on lunar craters!

The pot-hole infested arterial roads slow bring the traffic to a standstill, and all vehicles are forced to come on the tarred/cemented main roads.

Off-late, if google says one hour to work, I can safely assume an hour and half.

Still, absolutely rely on it before starting the day - helps mental preparation for the drive ahead

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by Joxster

Thank you for confirming on the availability of the application! I agree that Waze is indeed heavy on battery consumption, but most people keep their phones charging in the car while using navigation, so that's usually not an issue.
Also, I think that the phone tends to heat up more because the map is showing real-time updates constantly, but it shouldn't be a problem so to speak.



Maybe that was in the beginning of it's inception in India? There is no such limit while using the application here in Europe. We used it when we drove from Amsterdam to Paris, which is almost 500 kms, and there was no limitation or issues.

Cheers

I agree with you on WAZE. At times, GMaps in India has routed me through no entry lanes and extremely narrow lanes

We drove from Toronto to NYC and back and also did Toronto - Montreal - Quebec - Toronto. Waze was super accurate - upto the minute. There is no 50 km limit. It showed us the route all the way > 700 kms.

Added advantages are the user interface, you get information on police cars (whether they are visible, hidden or moving), potholes, stopped cars, speed cameras, etc.

It even tells you when to switch to a faster lane; anyone who has driven on the 401 in Toronto will know that there are express lanes & collector lanes. Waze tells you to switch depending on real time traffic !

Waze has been bought over by Google - still glad that they kept it as a separate app.

Waze does consume a lot of battery and data.

Have used it infrequently in Mumbai, works well and timing is spot on.

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Absolutely. Googlemaps apart from a lot other attributes takes into account the density of phones in the same area that are all moving in same direction to ascertain jams.

+1 People with phones. We feed the data.

And what other attributes that it takes into account? I always thought it depends on the main aspect of no of ppl with phones in the location who have turned on the GPS. Or does it gather based on Carrier Signal reception?

I use GoogleMaps a lot to see the current traffic situation and it does 90% of the job for me. When I visit newer places, I make sure to enquire with the locals before trusting the maps blindly.

I think Google Maps should provide an option to users to update the traffic conditions, so that others can benefit out of it by getting near to accurate data. Or is it already there? Waze is also used in BayArea, CA a lot and the data is mainly fed by the users. Funny how its being used to let other commuters know where there is a speed trap (Read the patrol officer), etc..

[avingodb]

A new thing I noticed in Google maps today. If you don't take the turn recommended in the map, it says "OK!" in a rather stern voice as if to say "how dare you not follow my command" and it then reads out the new next turn/landmark.
If you can's imagine the tone of that "OK", its almost like how your spouse would react!

Did anyone else notice?

[Deeps]

Noticed that too. But the "OK" is probably to draw your attention first before giving the navigation instruction.

[NiInJa]

My experience in Pune with Google maps has mostly been accurate. I usually dont rely on the ETA that google provides because traffic snarls can occur even before google updates it, but the traffic coloring is mostly accurate. I've found it to be accurate upto 5-7 minutes in Hinjawadi and Viman-nagar area (probably because many people use Smartphones there)

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I took this screenshot out of curiosity and it so well reflects the main ingredient that Google uses to show traffic jams - People with phones.

That is correct ! The way google maps works is it keeps on sending your location to their computers when the phone is with you. (Yes, data privacy is a myth ) Then if you are on the highway, the algorithm will 'assume' that you are in some vehicle. Then it clubs all the locations of other devices nearby matching your location and monitors how fast it is changing collectively, if it is slow, then it means there is a traffic jam. This is what the algorithm thought of and showed you (I just simplified it, there are lot of other factors that it considers).



For google to show accurate traffic, the most ideal condition is all people in that area (or the road) have smart phones with location visibility switched to ON and the roads are used only by vehicles (no joggers or protestors ). It wont show a traffic jam if none of those people have a smart-phone and are collectively moving slower. This does happen as people in rural areas where people dont always carry android/iOS based phones.



Eg. I was driving in Goa at late night with not much traffic and there was a red marker ahead indicating traffic jam, turned out that it was just one car moving very slowly for some reason.

[low_rider]

One thing that I noticed it that it suggests a few known routes, even if they are worse than other routes. Once you try a new route, it starts suggesting that route also.

Mostly in Delhi, I have to use my wisdom when I notice that Google is taking me to a route which is a known traffic nightmare, and this happens quite frequently.