Google Maps, today announced a range of new features in India, designed to make journeys more efficient and sustainable, powered by AI and local partnerships. These innovations in Maps, as per Google, address unique mobility needs of India, including navigating narrow roads, flyover indication, locating EV charging stations, and booking metro tickets in collaboration with ONDC and Namma Yatri.
Callouts for Narrow Roads
One of the first new features in Google Maps for India is narrow roads detection, where using AI, Google Maps will notify the user of narrow roads in their navigation path. Google developed an AI model specifically for Indian roads that incorporates multiple signals – satellite imagery, Street View, and other information like road types, distance between buildings, paved sections, etc. to estimate road widths at scale.
“Using these road width estimates, we’ve fine-tuned our existing AI routing algorithms to help four wheelers avoid narrow roads whenever possible, without significantly impacting travel time or distance,” said Google. As a result, clear callouts in Maps Directions and Navigation screens will alert you of narrow sections on your route, so that you can proceed cautiously or choose an alternative route.
“The diversity of road types in India, makes this a complex challenge, and we won’t always get it right. But we’re committed to continuously learning and improving the feature based on what we see in the real world and listening to user feedback,” Google added.
The feature is starting to roll out on Android devices this week in eight cities: Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati. Google will bring this to iOS and more cities soon.
Flyover Indication
Google is also introducing the Flyover indication feature in Maps for India where it will call out flyovers along your recommended route. This feature helps you anticipate upcoming flyovers and prepare ahead of time to get onto the flyover. This is a much-needed and requested feature specifically in India due to how the roads are designed in the country. Because of that, people often used to get confused whether they should take the flyover or not.
Starting this week, you’ll see these flyover callouts in 40 cities across India for both four-wheeler and two-wheeler active navigation on Android apps and Android Auto. iOS and CarPlay support will be coming soon.
Google will further soon be making these features available to developers through the Google Maps Platform Routes API. This means they can seamlessly integrate narrow road and flyover callouts into their own apps and services, creating even better location-based experiences for their users in India.
EV Charging Stations in Google Maps, Google Search
Google has partnered with leading EV charging providers in India – ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam, and Statiq – to add authoritative information for over 8,000 charging stations, representing a significant portion of available charging stations in India. With the help of it, you can easily find detailed information of EV chargers, including plug types (including those for two-wheelers) and real-time availability.
You can even filter by your specific charger type and check if the station is open before you head over. “This marks the first time we are launching EV charging stations for two-wheelers on Google Maps, and India is the first country to get this feature,” said Google.
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Metro ticket bookings powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri in Two New Cities
Google announced this feature back in December last year, where it allowed booking metro tickets via Google Maps, powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri. Now, the feature is going live in Kochi and Chennai. Now, when you search for public transport directions in these two cities, you’ll start seeing a new booking option for the metro leg of your trip. With a simple tap, you’ll be guided through the booking and payment process, powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri, eliminating the need to wait in line at the station.
This feature will expand to more cities soon.
Easier reporting of incidents
Google allows its community to report incidents on Maps, such as construction or accidents that may take place in their respective routes. Whether there’s ongoing construction or a traffic mishap on your route, you can now report it with just a few taps, making it easy and less distracting. You can even confirm others’ reports with a single tap which helps increase confidence in these user reported incidents. This update is available in India on Google Maps across all platforms – Android, iOS, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay.
Curated lists of favourite spots
Finally, Google has collaborated with local experts like NDTV Food and MagicPin who have curated lists for ten major cities and tourist spots: Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur, offering insider tips and recommendations for the best places to eat, drink, and explore. Now, when users search for these places on Google Maps, they’ll find lists like “Best Ocean-View Cafes in Goa,” or “Top Breakfast Spots in Mumbai,”or “Best shops to get Sandesh in Kolkata”.