Google Maps for Motorcycles is On it's Way

Initially Google Maps for motorcycles was tested in India and it resulted in a success. Later, Google Maps is now out and functioning in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

As per a news report by NDTV, Google Maps for motorcycles show routes and shortcuts that are inaccessible to cars, trucks and other heavy 4 wheelers. When a commuter selects the motorcycle option to select his route till the destination, the routing software of the app will show only those shortcuts which are accessible to bikes with travel duration and estimated arrival time.

2 wheeler users can get major advantages with this feature because narrow lanes and passageways in small towns and big cities alike could help riders avoid traffic congestion en route. Anticipating roads that prohibit motorcycle traffic can also save the aggravation of re-routing on the fly.

When Google Maps for motorcycles was launched in Thailand, Google Maps head of product Krish Vitaldevara said -
“The software would often use landmarks such as hospital and hotels rather than street names that could be harder to find and read Google’s goal is to train drivers to read the directions before heading out and look for landmarks, rather than watching their smartphone while traveling in highly congested traffic.”

If you are wondering why Google Maps launched its motorcycle feature first in India, followed by other parts of Eastern Asia: the company is following the market. As per a report by The Times of India, India is the largest market for two-wheeled motorized transportation in the world. While motorcycle sales were at an all-time low in the US, the same in India was increasing at an increasing rate significantly in 2017. It was driven in part by government spending on major rural road construction projects.

2 wheel vehicle users in the US are looking forward to Google Maps launching the same features there as well. There is no announcement about when or even if Google will turn on the motorcycle travel feature in the U.S. and the rest of the world. However, as we know Google owns Waze, they may start Google maps for motorcycles there.

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