Original toot in Spanish says: “OK, so I need some alternatives to Google Maps, because I just decided seconds ago to stop using it after I got proposed a trip with a completely unnecessary detour which adds two extra minutes just because it pass by a gas station that sponsors this trip.”
Even if this isn’t true, as some here suggest, it still points to an idea that might or might not come to Google Maps in the future. What would prevent them from suggesting multiple routes, where the first route is an advertised one, and we’d have to explicitly scroll a few pixels down to get to the non-advertised one. It’s the same with the Google search results.
So, we should really think of an alternative before it’s too late.
I’ve noticed Waze (owned by Google) sometimes suggests a route I don’t feel like (eg I’m on the highway and not in a rush so I don’t feel like taking an exit Waze suggests), but when I ignore it and it recalculates, the estimated time goes down.
On the one hand, I know that it has to explore the alternative routes from time to time to know which ones are fastest and that if it’s directing a sufficient portion of the overall flow, it has to use multiple routes or else any single route it suggests will become bogged down with too much traffic, but I gotta wonder if there’s other motivations, especially when it’s a highway exit.
Does waze have a fuel saving mode? It might be sending you down an exit because the route uses less fuel. I doubt waze and google maps has enough users to cause too much traffic. Surely most people drive familiar routes. I could be wrong.
The map apps will give you strange routes sometimes because if everyone obeys those strange routes, it actually improves traffic for everyone.
Steve Mould explains it here https://youtu.be/Cg73j3QYRJc?si=qYCSU5iEZK-g2lE4
At 3:06 the paradox mentioned (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess's_paradox) talks about how you can improve traffic by making people avoid taking an obvious route and instead have them take an apparently non-optimal route, but which will actually improve traffic for everyone.
If they can’t monetize, they drop. In business terms that makes sense. No profit? Stop the bleeding.
In a wider sense though, Google has done a tremendous job at showing me I can’t rely on them for almost anything. I’ve begun moving email, search, browser, cloud storage… Within a few months Android Auto will be the only thing I can’t undo, except to use my car’s nav. Maybe I’ll do that too.
How has your email transition been? I have been moving away from Google slowly for a few years/intentionally avoiding onboarding with Google services. I don’t use Chrome, no google search, haven’t used messenger ever, that sort of thing.
But moving away from Gmail is hard. Would love your thoughts.
What makes you think non-sponsored routes will even be available then?
IMO this is the main take.