Google is adding a series of new features to Google Maps in India as it seeks to attract more users by customizing its service to meet the country’s unique needs and serve more use cases.
Maps is getting an AI model that helps drivers navigate India’s narrow roads and flyovers. The company is also partnering with a government-backed initiative to let riders book local train and metro tickets from within the Maps app. The app will even get a feature that will surface curated lists of popular places to visit in certain cities.
Navigation features
On Thursday, Google announced that it has developed an AI model specifically for Indian roads that estimates road widths using satellite imagery and Street View data. The model also factors in information such as road type, distance between buildings, tree cover, utility poles and drains to help drivers avoid narrow roads.
Maps will now show routes for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians who avoid narrow roads while navigating. When these roads are unavoidable, Maps will display directions to warn users of the narrow sections ahead.
The company said that this feature will first be available on Android devices in eight cities and will then roll out to iOS devices soon.
Google Maps has also integrated flyover calls while navigating so you can see upcoming flyovers along your route.
Until this update, Maps asked drivers to “take a ramp” to go up or down flyovers, but the term “ramp” is not commonly used in India in this context. Additionally, the app often referred to roads by their official names during navigation, but these names are often not displayed prominently on the roads, so drivers often have to guess which road they are on. A clear instruction like “take the flyover” is a better guideline in such cases.
Flyover calling will roll out in 40 cities across India and will initially be available on Android devices and Android Auto. The feature will also soon be available on Apple CarPlay, Google said.
Maps will now also display information about electric vehicle charging stations across the country, more than five years after the feature was launched. deployed in the United StatesGoogle said it has partnered with EV charging providers and aggregators such as ElectricPe, Ather Energy, Kazam and Statiq to display information about more than 8,000 charging stations on Google Maps.
Users will also see information such as the types of plugs supported at available stations when searching for charging stations on the app.
It is worth noting that this will be the first time that Google Maps will display results for electric two-wheeler charging stations. Elsewhere in the world, Maps only displays car charging stations.
Public transport
Google has also partnered with India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed open source network for infrastructure, and Namma Yatri, a carpooling app backed by Googleto allow users to book tickets for local trains and metros and hail autorickshaws in Indian cities from Google Maps.
This week, the company is rolling out support for booking metro tickets in Kochi and Chennai from Google Maps. Users will receive their tickets in the form of a QR code after paying. Google said it will bring this feature to more cities and support other modes of transport eventually.
Google Maps used to show Uber and Ola cab fares when users entered a destination, but that feature was eventually discontinued. The company said the partnership with Namma Yatri and ONDC was a deeper integration and these booking features were here to stay.
Earlier this year, Google Maps began displaying curated lists of recommended places to visit in select cities in the United States and Canada. The company is now bringing this feature to India in partnership with Magicpin and NDTV Food. Starting this week, Indians will be able to see recommended places to visit in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur.
Google Maps will show these lists when users search for terms like “Best Ocean View Cafes in Goa” or “Best Breakfast Places in Mumbai.”
The company said it has also updated the Maps interface to make it easier to report accidents, slowdowns, road construction, lane closures, disabled vehicles and objects on the road via touch-sensitive icons.
