Google Maps Now Suggest Alternate Route… But Not Available on iPhone Yet

The route feature in Google Maps always shows you the best route from point A to point B. Google uses its own algorithm and makes the best guess to choose the best route for you. But as you know, sometimes, there are more than one effective route to your destination. And, the best route chosen by Google may not be the most effective one for you. So, today, Google Maps team announced a new feature that shows you alternate routes to your destination.

Google Maps - Alternate Route

Now, when you search for direction in Google, Google Maps still shows you the best route, but at the same time, the map shows other suggested routes for you to choose from. It’s up to your personal preference to choose the best route. Say, you are looking for route from Seattle to Redmond. Google Maps displays suggested route on the left pane. By highlighting the alternate route, it will then be shown on the map in lighter color.

Google Maps - Route Suggestion

The suggested route feature does not limit to driving direction. When you search for direction by public transit, Google Maps also offer other route suggestions.

Google Maps - Suggested Route for Public Transit

You may wonder, “How does Google Maps choose the best route?” Google Map team has very brief explanation on its blog:

For those curious about what’s happening behind the scenes, here are some slightly technical details. Deciding which route is “best” involves balancing competing factors: distance, travel time, number of turns, and many more. We boil all these factors down to a “cost” associated with each candidate route and display the route with the lowest “cost.” But we don’t know about all of your personal preferences, some of which can mean a higher cost route is better for you. Now you can compare and choose!

So, is this new map feature available on iPhone? Not yet. But I hope this feature will be bundled in iPhone 3.0 release that will come this summer. Stay tuned. I’ll keep you update on this.

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