A new feature in Google Maps enables users to add last-mile ridesharing and biking options to their travel plans. The feature will work automatically, whenever a user searches for a destination and clicks “directions.”
Below the usual walking, biking, public transit and driving options, a menu of “mixed-mode” options will pop up, which will include biking or ride-sharing. For each trip, the lowest-carbon mode or combination of modes will be marked “green.” As before when using Google Maps, the “mixed mode” options will tell users how long their total journey is likely to take, along with the estimated cost.
“Google Maps has always helped you get from place to place, whether you’re driving, walking, biking or taking public transit,” Google’s product manager for maps, Vishal Dutta, explained in a blog post. “And we know that transit journeys can be complex–often involving multiple modes of transportation to help you get around town. Today, we’re making it easy to pair transit directions with biking and ridesharing options so you can travel that first or last mile with ease.”
Launched this week in the US, Google says transit directions paired with biking and ridesharing will start rolling out in the coming weeks on Android and iOS in 30 countries around the globe, with more coming soon.