Google Maps doing strange things

[yorkie]

Google Maps is doing some very strange things, for example for a journey from York station, it is firstly doing a strange walking loop which involves going out of the wrong exit, doubling back through the commuter car park, then heading back over the footbridge.

Secondly, instead of taking the bus towards the destination (in this case, for illustrative purposes, Acorn Sports Club, but it happens with other destinations too), you are directed onto a bus heading away from the destination, towards the terminus and then back again, calling at the station again, before finally continuing the journey.

Is Google Maps just messed up around York station, or is anyone else experiencing similar issues?

York (YRK) to York Acorn Rugby Club

www.google.com

 

[Cowley]

I’ve completely given up on Google Maps recently because it kept trying to send me in odd directions and it wouldn’t centre properly.

It’s annoying because I like the fact that you can see the lay of the land (trees, rivers etc), but it’s really not very clear when you’re trying to drive or walk somewhere and seems to gotten excessively glitchy over the last couple of years?

It can be useful for initially planning routes however.

 

[brad465]

I’ve completely given up on Google Maps recently because it kept trying to send me in odd directions and it wouldn’t centre properly.

It’s annoying because I like the fact that you can see the lay of the land (trees, rivers etc), but it’s really not very clear when you’re trying to drive or walk somewhere and seems to gotten excessively glitchy over the last couple of years?

It can be useful for initially planning routes however.

What do you use instead out of interest?

 

[Cowley]

What do you use instead out of interest?

I’ve recently started using Waze.

I’m not exactly tech savvy Brad, but I downloaded it to use in Costa Rica and I’ve ended up using it a couple of times since we got back. Certainly for driving it seems to be pretty good, however I haven’t used it for walking yet.

As I said above, I do like the satellite view that you get with Google and I’ll quite often use that to see what things of interest I’m travelling through.
I’m using it less and less to actually direct me through.

 

[skyhigh]

I’ve recently started using Waze.

Which funnily enough is owned by Google. I'm pretty sure at least some of the background data is shared between the two apps.

 

[Cowley]

Which funnily enough is owned by Google. I'm pretty sure at least some of the background data is shared between the two apps.

Thanks for that, I didn’t realise.

I generally try and use map apps as little as possible but they can be useful at times. If I’m going somewhere I’m not completely sure of I’ll quite often look at the app before I leave but then try and memorise it as I like to build up my (for want of a better phrase) route knowledge…

I’ll also try drive back without using an app if I’ve used one to get somewhere.

 

[Bungle965]

I’ll also try drive back without using an app if I’ve used one to get somewhere

I’m the same is this respect, I find the reliance on an app means you actually don’t remember the route as well and takes you longer to sign the route (to coin a railway term!)

 

[bspahh]

I prefer Waze for driving. Its not just for directions, but for warnings of the speed limit, and alerts of unusual traffic, potholes and obstructions in the road etc. I might know the way when I take the correct turns, but not when I've gone wrong, or if roads have been added or blocked.

Google Maps for walking or public transport, and occaisionally for driving if its directly following a Google search.

 

[DM352]

Waze has been a mixed success driving in the UK with some interesting routes.

-Going to Wembley it recommend I leave M25 at A30, then rejoin at LHR, then leave to M4 and zigzag backroads. I wish I kept my A-Z!

-On a plus driving to Whitby very reliable. The better dual carriageway bits on the A64 near Malton Waze warned me of the lay-by camera van which not seen much on the bad bits. [not trying to go off topic!]

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Google's public transport routing is good (and their car routing too for those who swing that way), but anything based on OpenStreetMap data will be better for walking or cycling. Google simply doesn't have as good footpath and cycleway data as OSM does, and their cartography is purely a backdrop for search results and sponsored POIs rather than a map to orient yourself.

Organic Maps is the standard easy app based on OSM data, or there's OsmAnd if you want to get a bit geekier, and many many specialist walking/cycling apps.

 

[bspahh]

Google's public transport routing is good (and their car routing too for those who swing that way), but anything based on OpenStreetMap data will be better for walking or cycling. Google simply doesn't have as good footpath and cycleway data as OSM does, and their cartography is purely a backdrop for search results and sponsored POIs rather than a map to orient yourself.

Organic Maps is the standard easy app based on OSM data, or there's OsmAnd if you want to get a bit geekier, and many many specialist walking/cycling apps.

Interesting. I'll try it out.

I also have a subscription to the Ordnance Survey app, which was £17.49 for the year with £5.52 cashback at Topcashback

OS Maps app | Digital map app

Official OS Maps app: accurate, up-to-date routes for running, hiking, cycling and walking! Detailed maps on your phone, desktop or tablet

shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

 

[DelW]

Another step towards making Google maps less reliable:

Is Google Maps changing Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America?

It is the firm's "longstanding practice" to observe updates from official sources - in this case requested by Donald Trump.

www.bbc.co.uk

(BBC news article referring to its renaming of the Gulf of Mexico)

Google will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in its Google Maps app, the company has said, after US President Donald Trump ordered that the body of water be renamed in US government documents.

While this might seem trivial, especially from this distance, will the Trump / Musk misinformation campaign stop there? How long before Google is leant on again, maybe to move borders, change political allegiance of states, even show Greenland as a US territory on its maps? Once politicians get the idea that they can rewrite geography as well as history, they will continue to do so.

Musk was reported recently as wanting to change the name of the English Channel to George Washington Canal, but that surely must have been his weird idea of a joke - I hope.

 

[A Challenge]

Waze has been a mixed success driving in the UK with some interesting routes.

-Going to Wembley it recommend I leave M25 at A30, then rejoin at LHR, then leave to M4 and zigzag backroads. I wish I kept my A-Z!

-On a plus driving to Whitby very reliable. The better dual carriageway bits on the A64 near Malton Waze warned me of the lay-by camera van which not seen much on the bad bits. [not trying to go off topic!]

Depending on when that is, doing Staines to Terminal 4 off the M25 may well have been quicker, not if it's anything less than very busy though.

 

[Mojo]

I've recently started to use Apple Maps for both driving, and rail-based public transport modes.

For driving, I really like the clarity of the voice guidance, with it saying things like "go past these traffic lights and then turn right at the next lights," which I find means I've got less distractions trying to follow the map and also helps with advance lane positioning.

For public transport, I think it's undoubtedly the clearest when you have the Public transport layer turned on, as for localities where it is supported you get some really clear lines in the colours used by the local transport operators, and it also shows stations and where their exits pop up on street level.

 

[MrJeeves]

Another step towards making Google maps less reliable:

Is Google Maps changing Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America?

It is the firm's "longstanding practice" to observe updates from official sources - in this case requested by Donald Trump.

www.bbc.co.uk

(BBC news article referring to its renaming of the Gulf of Mexico)

While this might seem trivial, especially from this distance, will the Trump / Musk misinformation campaign stop there? How long before Google is leant on again, maybe to move borders, change political allegiance of states, even show Greenland as a US territory on its maps? Once politicians get the idea that they can rewrite geography as well as history, they will continue to do so.

Musk was reported recently as wanting to change the name of the English Channel to George Washington Canal, but that surely must have been his weird idea of a joke - I hope.

Google Maps has always displayed names of countries, cities, areas, etc. in their native names as well as local (to you) names. I don't see why that should change, even this was a rather silly renaming game.

If you look at Belgrade you'll also see "Београд". If you look at Copenhagen, you'll also see "København". If you use Google Maps in English (UK), you'll see "Gulf of Mexico" as well as "Gulf of America" (when the change eventually filters down through various international data sources!).

 

[DelW]

Google Maps has always displayed names of countries, cities, areas, etc. in their native names as well as local (to you) names. I don't see why that should change, even this was a rather silly renaming game.

If you look at Belgrade you'll also see "Београд". If you look at Copenhagen, you'll also see "København". If you use Google Maps in English (UK), you'll see "Gulf of Mexico" as well as "Gulf of America" (when the change eventually filters down through various international data sources!).

Yes, it may be that this goes no further. And of course borders in war zones have always been contentious, and maps will differ according to whose "side" they reflect. But few if any printed atlases have had the reach and therefore potential influence that Google and Apple maps do now.

Which prompts a thought, I haven't seen Apple mentioned in connection with this Trump renaming project.

 

[DanNCL]

Google Maps has always struggled with my local bus route - my stop is on a loop at the end of the route and the ‘terminus’ is before my stop. The result is Google telling you to get off the bus at the terminus and wait for the next one. Reality is you can stay on the same bus and get off at my stop 2 mins later.

For driving I’ve recently switched to Apple Maps and I prefer using that as a sat nav to Google maps, but still prefer Google for public transport as a rule.

 

[kirk781]

Google Maps once took me via a dirt unpaved road instead of the proper main one because the former was approximately ~100m shorter. Wow.I personally know folks who used Google Maps and were driven through god forsaken routes at night instead of proper highways.

Oh, and there was an incident last year in India where a car fell from an unfinished bridge because Google Maps pointed them to go via that. Two people died I think.

 

[setdown]

I’ve given up on Google Maps and moved to Apple now. Consistently, Google Maps has no idea about road closures at night, but Apple does.

Also, the app is so buggy. “Alerts only” audio mode has been moved into the settings now, instead of a tap on the navigation screen (oh, and it keeps turning itself off). I added a saved place to one list and it added it to a completely different shared list instead.

 

[najaB]

Oh, and there was an incident last year in India where a car fell from an unfinished bridge because Google Maps pointed them to go via that. Two people died I think.

Surely though the issue there must have been either a lack of adequate signage or an inattentive driver.

If someone could drive off the bridge while following a navigation app, surely the same could have happened without the app?

 

[kirk781]

I’ve given up on Google Maps and moved to Apple now.

It's sweet irony because when Apple Maps launched, it was ridiculed a lot and honestly, was feature incomplete vis a vis Google's variant.

Surely though the issue there must have been either a lack of adequate signage or an inattentive driver.

I think it was night time and some fog as well. In theory, there was supposed to be complete walling off the construction area but it was only done partially and a sign was put up. The drivers probably thought it was routine construction/redevelopment work, ignored the signs and walked off [in this case somewhat literally] from a cliff.

 

[najaB]

I think it was night time and some fog as well. In theory, there was supposed to be complete walling off the construction area but it was only done partially and a sign was put up. The drivers probably thought it was routine construction/redevelopment work, ignored the signs and walked off [in this case somewhat literally] from a cliff.

So Google maps wasn't really a factor, the exact same could have happened without it.

 

[D365]

Komoot is my choice for planning walks and cycle routes - it actually seeks out quiet roads and trails/bridleways rather than pointing you along A roads. Unfortunately the UX lets it down; it is especially poor for a ”freemium” app.

 

[kirk781]

So Google maps wasn't really a factor, the exact same could have happened without it.

People being people, yes, it could have happened without it. But in a pre tech world, a person would have probably asked anyone, if present, before driving on what would have looked to be an abandoned stretch in the middle of night slanting upwards and with debris lying around. In the current era, there is too much reliance on tech and assumption that everything they present is verifiable and true.

I like to think that Google Maps exacerbated this situation and made it worse. It was fault of both the authorities [who ought to have walled off the complete sector instead of partially] and whatever Algorithm Google Maps uses [though of course, you can persecute humans like in the former but not machines like in the latter].

 

[bspahh]

People being people, yes, it could have happened without it. But in a pre tech world, a person would have probably asked anyone, if present, before driving on what would have looked to be an abandoned stretch in the middle of night slanting upwards and with debris lying around. In the current era, there is too much reliance on tech and assumption that everything they present is verifiable and true.

This is a quote from a 1990s discussion board aimed at students:

If you are only now, in your expensive education, learning that what is contained on the printed page (even the reputable textbook page) is not necessarily the perfect, everlasting, unblemished truth, welcome to reality. Consider it, in fact, a cheap, if very valuable lesson.

 

[najaB]

In the current era, there is too much reliance on tech and assumption that everything they present is verifiable and true.

So, still not the fault of Google Maps. Exactly the same could have happened with any other mapping software or, for that matter, without any navigation system in use at all.

It's simply the case that "Driver crashes in foggy weather" doesn't sell as many papers (or drive as many clicks) as "Google Maps causes tragic accident" or risk the ire of the authorities that "Poorly signposted roadworks cause crash" would.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Komoot is my choice for planning walks and cycle routes - it actually seeks out quiet roads and trails/bridleways rather than pointing you along A roads.

I would recommend cycle.travel for that. But I’m biased because it’s my site/app