While saving the planet, Google Maps tries to save you money. Last year, in the United States, Google launched a feature of its navigation app that allows the user to know the route that consumes the least fuel. And this year, the firm is extending this functionality to Europe.
But as the optimization may vary depending on the type of engine, the Mountain View company is working on an improvement to this feature which will allow the user to indicate what type of vehicle he is driving, in order to obtain a truly optimized route.
For the moment, no announcement from Google. However, by digging into the code of the Google Maps application, our colleagues from 9to5Google have discovered elements suggesting that the novelty is indeed under development.
When Google helps you save money
More precisely, the site found text that could be used by the Google Maps app later, when this new feature is deployed.
” New! Get fuel-efficient routes tailored to your vehicle’s engine type »can we read in one of these strings.
While the current feature doesn’t take engine type into account, Google would promise even more savings by specifying the engine type. The options, in the selection, would be: petrol, diesel, electric and hybrid.
Unfortunately, at the moment it is not known when this novelty will be available. As 9to5Google notes, these elements were discovered in the code of a Google Maps beta. And it is likely that we are still several weeks away from the announcement. In any case, this news should delight drivers as well, regardless of the type of engine.
” […] in addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps will also show the most fuel-efficient one, if not also the fastest. With just a few clicks, you can see the relative fuel savings and ETA difference between the two routes and choose the one that suits you best »explained Google in 2021, when presenting this fuel saving function, in the United States.
And when announcing the expansion of this feature of Maps ne Europe, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, had shown the example of a route in Berlin that would reduce consumption by 18%, but which would only waste the user 3 minutes.
“These small decisions have a big impact on a large scale. With expansion in Europe and beyond, we estimate that carbon emissions savings will double by the end of the year”said the boss of Google.
This feature of Google Maps is part of a series of new features that the firm has launched to allow Internet users to reduce their impact on the environment. For example, on Google Flight, it also allows Internet users to identify flights with the least carbon emissions.
With regard to urban mobility, Google also encourages the use of less polluting means of transport. For example, for cyclists, Google launched a Maps feature called “lite navigation”.
“With lite navigation, cyclists can quickly see important details of their route without needing to keep their screen on or enter turn-by-turn navigation”explained Google.