Google Maps Gets Smarter

Google Maps

Google MapsGoogle Maps has been one of the best GPS navigation systems since its inception. Now it is going to be even better.

Google Maps is going to add traffic information for 12 new cities and all national highways and expressways in India. The newly added cities include Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Surat, Ludhiana, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Kochi, Madurai, Indore and Bhopal.

Drivers and commuters will be able to get traffic information for all the above mentioned cities. Google has been releasing a series of updates for the Maps for long.

Suren Ruhela, Director, Program Management, Google said, “We’re constantly working on making Google Maps a more comprehensive, daily tool for Indians, and we hope that this new real-time traffic information for 12 cities and all national highways will help drivers across the country find the best routes to their destinations with the fewest delays”.

This move will enable users to see real time traffic conditions across a total of 34 cities. The roads will be mapped out in different colors – green would indicate no traffic delays, orange would mean medium amount of traffic and red stands for heavier traffic congestion. This feature will be available on both mobile and desktops.

Thus, Google Maps, in the navigation mode, will now display real time traffic information. It will also accurately estimate your time of arrival and provide options for alternative faster routes.

In USA, Google Maps will be partnering with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in order to provide the location of every rail crossing in the country on its popular app. There are over 2,00,000 public and private rail crossings in the United States. Federal safety statistics show more than 270 deaths and 843 injuries from rail collisions in 2014. For both Google and the FRA, this project is a priority but they are yet to announce a date for the addition of railroad crossings in Google Maps.

Mapping services have shaped up in a big way in India. Thanks to the growing internet penetration on mobile devices.