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Google Maps is introducing several new features for users in India, including the ability to find electric vehicle charging stations and book metro tickets in several Indian cities. In addition, the user is finally advised to use the elevated road or the secondary road next to the elevated road. On July 25, Lalita Ramani, General Manager, Google Maps India said, “Flight Guide was a feature requested by our users. We listened and responded." According to Google, transit calls indicate to the user that there are upcoming flights on the route and allow them to decide whether or not they want to participate in the transit. Similar features to help users navigate intersections and overpasses have long existed in alternative digital mapping platforms such as MapMyIndia's Maps app. This flight feature has been deployed in 40 cities in India and is aimed at both four-wheeler and two-wheeler riders. However, the update will be available on Android devices first and later on iOS and CarPlay users.
The tech giant also said it plans to add more than 8,000 EV charging stations across the country in collaboration with EV charging and data collection equipment providers such as ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam and Statiq. “The use of electric vehicles in India, both in cars and two-wheelers, is increasing rapidly and we want to ensure that electric vehicle drivers have the information they need,” said Lalita Ramani, General Manager, Google Maps India. Google Maps also displays detailed information about electric vehicle charging stations, including plug type and immediate availability. Users can also filter electric vehicle charging locations by charger type. In addition, users can also specifically search for electric two-wheeler charging stations. In other countries, there are According to Ramani, this possibility is not yet available.
In a major update, Google Maps has announced that its metro ticket booking feature, developed in collaboration with Open Digital Commerce Network (ONDC) and ride booking app Namma Yatri, will go live in Kochi and Chennai . At some point this week, when the user searches for destination routes in the Metro tab, they will be presented with the option to book a Metro ticket for the Metro leg of their journey. Tap on it and you will be redirected to the ticket booking page for Namma Yatri. You then have to enter your phone number to pay and you will receive a QR code for your ticket. “We are expanding this feature to more cities and public transport and are working closely with Namma Yatri and ONDC. We want to improve the public transport experience,” Anal Ghosh, product head, Google Maps India, told reporters. As ONDC expands to more cities, you can expect the metro booking feature through Google Maps to be available in your city too, Ghosh added. He also mentioned that in the future the integration of Namma Yatri will include other modes of transport like buses. In 2016, Google Maps also integrated the ride-sharing services of Ola and Uber into its platform. However, Ghosh emphasized that Namma Yatri's integration was different. "In this case, the Kochi and Chennai metro agencies have service provider apps on ONDC, and Namma Yatri is a consumer app to get information and book services," he said.
Another new navigation feature for Indian Google Maps users is narrow road warnings to help avoid four-wheelers. Google said it has improved existing AI routing algorithms to estimate road widths. Short Street Calls will initially be available to Google Maps users in eight cities: Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati. iOS users will have to wait for this feature as it is currently only available on Android. Third-party app developers can use the following navigation features, such as: Integration of short distance warnings and speeding notifications via the Google Roots API. Other updates to Google Maps announced on Thursday include a quick report feature that allows users to flag ongoing construction work or road incidents, such as at a coffee shop in Goa. Earlier this month, Google announced that it would lower the prices for Indian developers using the Maps API. Instead, Ola will no longer use the Google Maps API. The announcement comes days after Ola said he prefers to make his own decision.
