New Google Maps Directions, Travel & EV Features

Google has announced a number of new travel features with Google Maps and Travel around driving alternatives, trains and buses, travel impact mode and then some new EV driving direction features. Google says these features are to give you more “sustainable choices.”

Here are summaries of these announcements:

Google Maps / Travel

(1) Driving alternatives in Google Maps: Google driving directions will soon show public transit or a walking suggestion next to driving routes. This only happens if travel times are comparable and practical. This is coming to over 15 cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Montreal, Paris, Rome and Sydney.

(2) Trains & buses in Google Search: Google can now show you train schedules and ticket prices directly in Google Search. This is available for rail travel in 38 countries around the world, as well as long-distance buses in 15 countries. This was available before, but Google expanded this feature to more locations.

(3) Train suggestions on Google Flights: Google Flights will show you train route suggestions in the flight search results. This builds on similar suggestions Google already show in Google Search for flight queries. This will roll out in the coming months.

(4) Travel Impact Model: Google already shows you estimated emissions in Google Flights. Now Google gives you those estimates through the Google developer API, a Google Sheets extension and a calculator on the TIM website.

EV Specific Announcements

(1) EV Charging Station Pins: Google will highlight nearby EV charging stations for in-car Maps, with information about station availability and charging speeds.

(2) AI-powered summaries for EV charging stations: AI summaries from user reviews will better help users pinpoint charging stations. So many charging locations just do not work, so this may help, if Google can keep these summaries up-to-date:

They would be based off the new EV charging reviews form:

(3) Multi-waypoint EV trip planning: When users create a multi-stop trip, in-car Google Maps will suggest required charging stops. This feature will be available globally in the coming months for vehicles with Google built-in.

All these features are coming soon…

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