Only in the US for now

Mar 10, 2010 11:48 GMT  ·  By

Cycling lovers in the US have something to cheer about: Google is adding bike routes to Google Maps directions to help cyclists find their way in crowded cities while avoiding some of the common problems specific to moving by bike rather than car like steep hills, or very crowded streets. Areas with unfriendly dogs haven't been included yet. The feature is going live today in 150 US cities and towns.

The company will be making the official announcement today at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC. The feature is actually long overdue as Google says it is the most requested in Google Maps, so there's clearly a demand and need for it. With 57 million Americans using bikes, it will likely find quite a lot of users.

Google Maps is now offering a new option, "bicycling," for directions, apart from the existing ones like "by car," "by public transit" or "walking." The directions are similar to the ones Google Maps is already providing but the algorithm takes special care to avoid things like steep hills, freeway for heavily trafficked streets and prefers routes along existing bike lanes or bike trails. The step-by-step directions are customizable so users can adjust them if they think they know a better route.

The search giant has amassed quite a bit of data for the new biking features. Besides the data it has gathered itself, Google relies on data from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a non-profit group that converts abandoned rail tracks to bike trails. The group provided Google with over 12,000 miles of bike trails in the US.

The feature is going live on the mail Google Maps site today and is currently limited to several regions in the US. More cities are going to be added and the company says it plans to offer the feature in Europe next though there's no time line for when that will happen. It is not available on the mobile version of the site yet, which kind of defeats the purpose, but is coming soon. The new mapping data will also be available to third parties through the API.