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Google Maps Hacks

simonweckert.com

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Re: Google Maps Hacks

#361

Post by spookthesunset »

mindfulhack wrote: post #323
stevenhuang wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a predictably cynical interpretation. Your immediate reaction to the application of imperfect models to the real world need not be one of distrust as if slighted but rather simple acknowledgment that this is just the best we can currently do.

You have a point. Perhaps it's Google users' fault as much as anyone else's, to form such trusting emotional bonds to the Google service in the first place. However: 1. Google doesn't do anything to educate their users about this reality. 2. If corporations like Google really wanted to do "the best we can currently do", they'd try harder but instead they just do "the best we need to do to make billions of dollars fro…

What the heck are you on about?

> Google doesn't do anything to educate their users about this reality.

What do you propose they do? Have cameras on every street instead? Somehow spend a fortune to embed sensors in to every roadway on earth?

As it turns out, when you aggregate a ton of (hopefully) anonymized data, you can get some really cool shit. Like the "how busy is this business" thing they have for a lot of businesses.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#362

Post by magduf »

viburnum wrote: post #97
8ytecoder wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an understated problem. Google used to regularly take me through a route that involves a left turn in a major road and multiple crossings where cross traffic won’t stop. Literally two blocks from the suggested left turn is a left turn arrow signal which also avoids the dangerous crossings. It’s both dangerous and anxiety inducing and doesn’t save time either.

I wish it had a “no left turns” feature like they have for avoiding tolls.

The problem is that it would be mostly useless, because it'd be buried in a menu somewhere where you can't easily change it while driving.

The avoiding tolls thing is absolutely terrible that way. Thankfully, they finally put in a new feature where it shows you alternate routes, with and without tolls, and tells you if they do or don't have tolls. It took years for this to come about even though I had requested it many times, and it's plainly obviously needed. But before this, it was all-or-nothing, and it wasn't easy to change on the fly, and having it on was bad because it would frequently try to route me onto an expensive toll lane even though there was zero time savings, but for other routes a toll road was absolutely necessary.

They should have it weight left turns higher (as in worse) so that routes tend to avoid them. When I drive to work, I can take my normal exit, and only take right turns, or if I miss it, I can take the next exit, but there's a terrible left turn there with a very long light. Google Maps consistently says "1 minute longer" for this route: BS. It might be about the same if you happen to catch the light, otherwise it's 5 minutes longer. I feel like their algorithm really doesn't take this into account well.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#363

Post by nelgaard »

dwighttk wrote: post #171
thaeli wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waze has settings for this.

do they have "how tall is your rental truck?" I had a friend I helped move and we had to deal with google continually routing us towards low bridges.

In OsmAnd you can set vehicle parameters: height, weight, and width limits.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#364

Post by magduf »

DuskStar wrote: post #285
Spooky23 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happens on NY 73, which is a road in the Adirondack High Peaks region between the highway and Lake Placid. It’s legit — even though cars are parked, you still need to slow down! I usually avoid Google maps for traveling in areas that I don’t know. It takes you off on stupid routes that save marginal time (if any) too much. Waze is good for interstate travel, but IMO Apple is better for giving you the “right”, lo…

So a theory I've had for a bit now... Google maps doesn't optimize for ease of travel, or time, or anything like that - it optimizes for engagement , like every other Google product. And how would you do that with a maps product? By making routes too complicated to memorize, too specialized (back streets, etc) to generalize, and then changing things up often to prevent a route from becoming second nature anyways . Wh…

Sounds funny, but your theory is false. I use GMaps every day to drive to and from work, with a very simple route that's almost all on an interstate highway. Almost every day, it gives me the exact same route (which is so simple I really don't need GPS navigation at all for it). Sometimes, it gives me a different route because of an accident, traffic jam, construction delay, etc., which is why I use GPS all the time, but I see absolutely nothing to indicate that Google intentionally makes my route more complicated than it needs to be. (And yes, these delays are real: this road is under a lot of construction at the moment, and it frequently has crashes and traffic jams in places.)

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#365

Post by magduf »

GauntletWizard wrote: post #177
wolco wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've visited and I wouldn't say that is true. There is all kinds of seedy. There are white/skinny seedy people walking rats, kinda freaky. But taking the downtown bus gave equal race representation when someone started a fight with me over there bag's right to occupy my seat. The Asian gangs robbing/hitting people on the bart I was on showed a different side of seedy. The uniquely San Fran treat was someone asking my…

The Bart is designed to look automated, but it's one of the least automated transit systems around - There's a human driver on each train, station agents to watch the doors, and it's only the fact that they have nice recordings that makes it feel impersonal and automated.

They should get some nice recordings here in DC for the Metro system. They usually just have the drivers making announcements, and half the time I can't understand a word they said.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#366

Post by magduf »

s0rce wrote: post #287
netsharc wrote: post #23

An interesting "red but no traffic" phenomenon is in Iceland, with roads which are next to scenery viewing points. The roads are mostly empty in this country, but everyone must've slowed down when they saw the breathtaking scenery, and would pull into the viewing point's parking spot to stop and take pictures. On Google Maps these areas were marked red. On another navigation related topic; I was using Waze in a high-…

There is a popular road in a relatively rural part of the SF Bay area for bicycling and on the weekends it appears to have traffic due to the slower speed of the numerous cyclists. There isn't actually more traffic. Google then sends cars on a winding narrow hilly alternate route.

As a cyclist, this sounds like a feature, not a bug. Fewer cars on the road is always a good thing for cyclists if they have to share the road.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#367

Post by magduf »

onionisafruit wrote: post #22
nudgeee wrote: post #14

I used to work for a mapping & navigation company that offered a traffic API service. It worked by using anonymized cell phone data to predict traffic patterns. I once heard a story that during peak hour, every five minutes or so the jams on a highway would magically disappear then reappear. After some head scratching, turns out there is a train track inbetween the lanes of the highway full of high speed commuters th…

How did you fix that? I’ve been wondering how google and the others differentiate between cars on the free vs express lanes.

Well if the people are actually navigating, in GMaps they normally have to select which mode they're using: car, bicycle, public trans, walking, etc.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#368

Post by marton78 »

marriedWpt wrote: post #354
Gene_Parmesan wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My third hand information frmo a coworker who is friends with people on the maps team is that some percentage of people will get routed into the traffic, and some percentage will get routed to alternate routes, of which there may be a few. Google appears to take a rather active stance on increasing total traffic flow, even at the expense of giving some number of drivers suboptimal routes.

I've noticed this too, and as a result I cannot trust Google maps. Is there any competitor I can check to confirm best routes?

On average, these are the best routes. There's some chance you'll be that guy routed into traffic today, only to enjoy the faster detour the next ten times. Decreasing total time in traffic for all participants is optimal on the long run for every single participant.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#369

Post by dghughes »

great_kraken wrote: post #290
dghughes wrote: post #289

Geez, those second-hand phones look nicer than what I am using now :( edit: And why wouldn't a bus with 50 people all with smartphones have the same effect?

The people on the bus wouldn't be in car navigation mode of Google Maps.

I don't think everyone has to be using car navigation mode. The traffic in my small town is shown on Google Traffic and I doubt locals here need navigation to get back to their home 5km away.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#370

Post by danesparza »

thrownblown wrote: post #349
danesparza wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would pay good money for the "go home and try again tomorrow" feature. Especially if it was narrated by my favorite celebrity. Like Cookie Monster.

You can get cookie monster's voice on Waze...

Oh, I'm aware. Thanks though. ;-)
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