14 DAY TRIAL // A new feature is now available for Android users who rely on Google Maps to get them where they need, namely real-time traffic routing.
Basically, this would enable users to easily find a route that would get them around roads with bad traffic, so that they would be able to arrive where they want in due time.
“We’re happy to announce that Google Maps Navigation (Beta) will now automatically route you around traffic. With more than 35 million miles driven by Navigation users every day, this should add up to quite a bit of time saved,” a recent post on the Google Mobile Blog reads.
Through the new feature, users no longer need to listen to traffic reports so that they would know whether the road is clear or there is a traffic jam along the route.
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) was designed to take users around those areas with bad traffic without necessarily informing them on the matter.
“On a recent trip to New York, I was running late to meet some friends at the Queens Museum of Art. I had no idea that there was a traffic jam along the route I would normally have taken,” Roy Williams, software engineer, Google Maps Team explains.
“Thankfully, Navigation routed me around traffic. I didn’t even have to know that there was a traffic jam on I-495, and I got to enjoy a much faster trip on I-278 instead,” he continues.
Those interested in benefiting from the new capability of the mobile application would simply have to fire up Navigation, and the software would do the rest.
Until now, the app was meant to provide users with the fastest route, without taking into account the current traffic conditions. The software was also able to offer alternate directions, including the shortest route, or one using highways instead of side roads.
“Starting today, our routing algorithms will also apply our knowledge of current and historical traffic to select the fastest route from those alternates. That means that Navigation will automatically guide you along the best route given the current traffic conditions,” Roy Williams explains.
In addition to offering savings of time and fuel, the new feature is also capable of making traffic better for everyone else, since they can avoid traffic jams.
“Keep in mind that we can’t guarantee that Navigation will be able to find a faster way, but it will always try to get you where you’re going as fast as possible,” Williams concludes.
Routing around traffic is available today in Google Maps Navigation for Android users living in North America and European countries where Navigation and real-time traffic data are available.