Google Maps Now for Biking

bike commuting, cycling, Google Maps | UltraRob | Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am

Earlier this week Google added a Bicycling option to directions in Google Maps. Now in addition to getting directions By Car, By public transit and Walking, you can select Bicycling from the drop down below the 2 locations. Bike paths are shown in solid green and recommended bike routes on streets are shown as dotted green lines.

I used it to get directions between my house and work. Except for a couple blocks, I can ride the whole way on bike paths. Google had most of the bike paths but they missed a key section. Because of that they ended up using a couple blocks of a busy street. It was still the best route without using the missing bike path.

From my house to work it is all uphill and obviously downhill on the way to home. I was happy to see that they do take elevation into account in their estimated time for bikes. They showed it taking 27 minutes to get to work and 18 minutes to get home. I ride a little faster than that but those are reasonable estimates.

As another test, I checked from my house to my parents house. It choose a busy street up a 9% grade hill instead of a much flatter route on quiet streets. The route I take is slightly longer but much safer and easier. I don’t find it surprising that they wouldn’t be able to find the best bike route. I’d just caution you to use the bike directions as a guide and not totally rely on on them.

To promote the new feature, Google is giving a $2,500 voucher to one lucky Twitter user. One winner will be randomly selected to receive a voucher for $2,500 USD to be used at American Cyclery. Entries must be received through a tweet which includes the hashtag #bikewithgoogle by 12 PM PST on March 19, 2010. See official rules for more details.

– UltraRob

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