It's a bit of an understatement to say that the pandemic changed how we travel to places, and companies have really struggled to adapt to this new world. Now, Google has revealed some new features coming to Maps to help people get around in the new normal.
Google Maps in a New Normal
Google announced all of its plans on The Keyword. Google Maps is fantastic for finding local travel routes and places to eat but it doesn't take into account how many people are already there. After all, a bus full of people is far more potentially infectious than a sparse one.
Unfortunately, access to that information is now more important than ever. Google states that public transport route direction requests have increased by 50% since last year, so ensuring all those people get on safe, uncrowded vehicles is key.
Fortunately, Google has the answer:
That’s why we’re expanding transit crowdedness predictions to over 10,000 transit agencies in 100 countries so you’ll know if your line is likely to have lots of open seats, hit full capacity, or be anywhere in between. With this information you can decide whether you want to hop on board or wait for another train.
Google also notes that should the pandemic get to such a level that regular life can resume, this feature won't be antiquated. Because, as the internet giant puts it, "no one likes standing in a jam-packed subway car" regardless of the pandemic's prevalence.
Also, Google is adding a few extra touches to reviews. Now, when you review a food place, you can state whether you ate in or took your food out. This helps others to choose a restaurant that will allow them to take their food home instead of dining inside.
Google Maps will also better tell you how long you traveled or spent at a place, so you can better manage your time. And Google is quick to add that you can now use Trips in Timeline to reminisce about your past holidays and remember a time when hopping on an airplane wasn't a major health concern.
A Whole New World for Google Maps
As our daily routine changes to fit the pandemic, so too must the tools we use to get our stuff done. Google is leading the charge with these handy new features for Maps, and it'll hopefully be a huge help in aiding people to make educated decisions about what to do and where to go.
This isn't the first time Google has enhanced Maps to keep people safe. The internet giant recently updated Maps so that it took route danger into account when calculating the best path.
