New Biking Features in Google Maps
New biking features in Google Maps are now available, ten years after they were first launched. Since February, Google said, that there’s been a 69% increase in searches for cycling directions, with the all-time peak last month.
Google has plugged that data into
A combination of machine learning, complex algorithms and our understanding of real-world conditions based on imagery and data from government authorities and community contributions.
And, made bike routes more reliable. Google users can also see how flat or steep the route is, so you’ll know if you’re in for an easy breezy ride or one that will really get the heart pumping. Google also considers various forms of bike lanes and nearby streets that might be less friendly for your two wheels (like tunnels, stairs and poor surface conditions) so you can have the best and smoothest biking route
New Biking Features in Google Maps Includes Bike Shares
Additionally, Google also introduced real-time docked bikeshare information to help travelers in select cities locate bike sharing stations. Those cities include
- Chicago, U.S. (Divvy/Lyft)
- New York City, U.S. (Citi Bike/Lyft)
- San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. (Bay Wheels/Lyft)
- Washington, DC, U.S. (Capital Bikeshare/Lyft)
- London, England (Santander Cycles/TfL)
- Mexico City, Mexico (Ecobici)
- Montreal, Canada (BIXI/Lyft)
- Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Bike Itaú)
- São Paulo, Brazil (Bike Itaú)
- Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan (YouBike)
Google’s update reminded me of how they launched bike maps with us a decade ago too. Read that story here and the time I rode with the map engineers.