Insurance broker campaigns to add motorcycle function to Google maps
The function has already been trialled elsewhere and provides the best, most efficient route for a motorcyclist to get to a destination
INDIA has it, so why don’t we?
I’m not talking about the Himalayans, nor the Taj Mahal.
Nope, I mean Google Maps’ motorcycle mode…
Introduced late last year in what is the world’s largest two-wheeler market, this function works to find the best, most efficient route for a motorcyclist to get to a destination. It provides customized parking, traffic and arrival time estimations and uses routes that are not accessible to larger vehicles.
So why hasn’t it come to England? We’re not sure, but if motorcycle insurance broker Carole Nash has its way, it may do soon.
The company is behind an online petition to bring the function to Britain, citing studies that prove commuting on two-wheels helps to reduce congestion.
According to the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA), commuting on motorcycles within large European cities can be up to two-thirds quicker than the same route taken by a car, therefore time estimates shown on Google maps are inaccurate to bikers. A study from Transport and Mobility Leuven is more specific, claiming that if just 10 per cent of cars on the road were replaced by motorcycles, congestion would be reduced by 40 per cent.
So far, the change.org petition, which is targeted at Google and Google Maps, has received 184 signatures.
The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) is backing the campaign, with CEO Tony Campbell telling Inside Bikes: ‘MCIA fully supports the call for Google Maps to introduce powered two-wheeler journey times. Car journey times just aren’t accurate for riders or powered two-wheelers as they cut through rush hour congestion in the time you would expect to move in free-flowing traffic. This has been confirmed through a series of City Challenges in many European cities, including several in the UK.’
