Google Maps is introducing a handful of new features for Indian users, including capabilities to find EV charging points and book metro tickets in a few Indian cities. It will also finally let users know if they should take a flyover or the service road next to it. “Flyover guidance has been one of the most requested features from our users, we have heard you and acted on it, “ said Lalitha Ramani, the general manager of Google Maps India, at a press briefing on Thursday, July 25. Google said that the flyover callouts will point out upcoming flyovers to users along their routes, so that they can decide to take it or not. Similar features to help users navigate intersections and flyovers have existed on alternative digital map platforms like the MapMyIndia-owned Mappls app for a while now. The flyover callout feature is being rolled out across 40 cities in India for both four-wheeler and two-wheeler users. However, this update will be coming to Android devices first, and it will become available for iOS and CarPlay users later. EV charging locations on Google Maps in India The tech giant said that it is looking to add over 8,000 EV charging locations in the country by collaborating with EV charging providers and data aggregators such as ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam, and Statiq. “We are seeing a real surge in EV adoption in India, both for cars and two-wheelers and we want to make sure that EV drivers have the information they need,” said Ramani. Google Maps will also display detailed information about the EV charging stations such as plug types and real-time availability. Users can filter the EV charging locations based on charger type. Additionally, users can seek out EV charging stations that are specifically meant for two-wheelers. This option is not available in any other country yet, according to Ramani. Metro ticket booking via Google Maps India Providing an important update, Google Maps said that its metro ticket booking feature, which has been developed by joining hands with the government-led Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and ride booking app Namma Yatri, will be going live in Kochi and Chennai sometime this week. When users look for directions to their destination in the metro tab, the metro leg of the journey will have an option to book metro tickets. Tapping on it will take you to the ticket booking screen on Namma Yatri after which you have to enter your phone number and pay to receive the QR code of your ticket. “We're eager to expand this feature to more cities and additional modes of public transport, collaborating closely with Namma Yatri and ONDC to enhance your public transportation experience,” Anal Ghosh, the product lead at Google Maps India, told reporters. As ONDC scales to more cities, you can expect the metro booking feature via Google Maps to come to your city as well, Ghosh added. He further mentioned that the Namma Yatri integration could cover other modes of transport such as buses in the future. Back in 2016, Google Maps had integrated Ola and Uber ride-hailing services within the platform. However, Ghosh stressed that the Namma Yatri integration is different. “In this case, what is happening is, the metro transport agencies in Kochi and Chennai have seller apps on ONDC, and Namma Yatri is a buyer app that is fetching the information and providing the feature of booking these services,” he said. Navigating narrow roads and more Another new navigation feature that is coming to Google Map users in India is narrow road alerts that are meant to help four-wheeler drivers avoid using them. Google said that it fine-tuned existing AI routing algorithms in order to estimate the road widths. Initially, narrow road callouts will be going live for Google Map users in eight cities, namely: Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati. With this feature too, iOS users will have to wait as it is only being rolled out for Android at present. These navigational features like narrow roads alerts and flyover callouts can also be integrated by developers of third-party apps through Google’s Routes API. Some other updates that were announced by Google Maps on Thursday are faster reporting options for users to flag ongoing construction or traffic accidents and a ‘Lists’ feature that lets users curate recommendations for the "Top Breakfast Spots in Mumbai” or "Best Ocean-View Cafes in Goa”. Earlier this month, Google said that it is cutting prices for Indian developers who use its Maps API for their apps. The announcement came just days after Ola said that it will no longer be using the Google Maps API, instead opting for its in-house solution. When asked about the timing of Google Map’s revised API pricing, Miriam Daniel, VP and GM, Google Maps, said that they had timed it with the Google I/O connect event in Bengaluru. “We had to localise all of our pricing systems and make them available in local currency for our partners in India,” she added.
