Years ago Google Maps became essential in our road trips. And not only to travel to distant places; also to move around the city avoiding traffic jams, finding parking more easily and looking for the cheapest gas station to refuel.
Now, in addition, the app joins the fight against the climate crisis with the decision to start showing the lowest carbon route , in case it is not the fastest. To determine which road is the least polluting, the application's artificial intelligence will take into account factors such as slopes and traffic congestion.
The user can choose which of the two options is left -or configure the program so that one or the other is always displayed by default-, but the company estimates that, if we opt for the most ecological, it could be save more than a million tons of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of remove more than 200,000 cars from the road . Furthermore, with this change, which has just been implemented in the United States and will arrive in 2022 in Europe, we would also be saving money thanks to the reduction in our fuel consumption.
COMMITMENT TO 'GREEN' VEHICLES
Although the idea of taking the most energy efficient route is good, it is not enough to address the environmental urgency. For this reason, Google has announced that now, in searches made on the web to choose a car, it will be easier to see hybrid and electric vehicle options , compare them with gasoline models and find discounts. The change, like the previous one, is already available in the United States and will be in a year in Europe.
After all, land vehicles represent more than 75% of CO2 emissions of transportation and are one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gases worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Of course, often the most sustainable option just doesn't involve the car. That is why we present easier navigation features for cyclists in Maps and make it easy to find bicycles and scooter shared in more than 300 cities around the world”, have also explained those responsible for the company.
better by bike
In the first case, they refer to the “ navigation Lite ”, a new possibility that will come into operation in the coming months in all places where bicycle routes are active, such as Spain. It will facilitate Cyclists can quickly see important details about their route -such as road elevation or current location- no need to keep the screen on or enter turn-by-turn navigation , something that can be dangerous while driving on two wheels.