Google Maps adds COVID-19 updates to inform travelers, commuters about their trip

Google Maps has several new features for Android and on Monday iOS to keep travelers and commuters informed COVID-19 could affect their journey. This includes information such as travel restrictions and possibly overcrowded public transport. TechCrunch previously reported on the news.

Transit notifications from local authorities are now displayed on maps to keep people informed about government mandates related to public transportation, including: B. whether no services are available or whether masks are required. Alerts are now available in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Mexico, France, Thailand, Spain, the Netherlands, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria, and Belgium. More countries will be added soon.

Google also tells users whether their trip includes a COVID-19 checkpoint, e.g. B. when crossing international borders. This feature will be introduced in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Notifications also appear when users plan a trip to a COVID-19 test center or medical facility. For these warnings, data is retrieved from local, state, and federal governments to ensure that people are aware of policies. This feature will initially be available to medical facilities in the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Israel. Test center notifications are also available in the United States. Google is working to add more countries.

In addition, Google is building on a feature that was introduced last year predicts how busy a train, subway or bus will be. When viewing transit directions, users can now scroll down to find trafficking predictions and add their own observations. Users can also see data about when a transit station was more or less crowded in the past, or can view live data by going to a station on Google Maps. This feature will be introduced in the next few weeks. Information is retrieved from aggregated and anonymized data from users who sign up for Google’s location history.

In February, Google Maps added insights like how hot a route can be and whether security is normally on board. The company has now introduced these functions worldwide. It also added more Accessibility information including where there are wheelchair accessible doors, seat and stop buttons.