ABC* says Google’s Maps app will start directing drivers along routes estimated to generate the lowest carbon emissions based on traffic, slopes and other factors.
“Soon, Google Maps will default to the route with the lowest carbon footprint when it has approximately the same ETA (estimated arrival time) as the fastest route,” vice president of product Dane Glasgow said in a blog post.
“In cases where the eco-friendly route could significantly increase your ETA, we’ll let you compare the relative CO2 impact between routes so you can choose.”
Unless users opt out, the default route will be the “eco-friendly” one if comparable options take about the same time, Google said.
When alternatives are significantly faster, Google will offer choices and let users compare estimated emissions.
“What we are seeing is for around half of routes, we are able to find an option more eco-friendly with minimal or no time-cost tradeoff,” Russell Dicker, a director of product at Google, told reporters.
Google said it derives emissions-relative estimates by testing across different types of vehicles and road types, drawing on insights from the US government’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).
Road grade data comes from its Street View cars as well as aerial and satellite imagery.
NREL mobility group manager Jeff Gonder said the lab, which developed a tool known as FastE to estimate vehicles’ energy usage, reached a deal this month to get funding from Google to study the accuracy of its estimates.
The eco-friendly routes feature will be launched in the US later this year, with expansion to the rest of the world “on the way”, the company said.
The potential effect on emissions from the feature is unclear.
A study of 20 people at California State University, Long Beach, last year found participants were more inclined to consider carbon emissions in route selection after testing an app that showed estimates.
Google’s announcement included additional climate-focused changes.
Another new “air quality layer” feature, to be rolled out in Australia, India and the US “in the coming months”, will show travellers how clean the air on their route is — “information that’s especially helpful if you have allergies or are in a smoggy or fire-prone area,” the company said.
From June, it will start warning drivers about to travel through low emissions zones where some vehicles are restricted in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In the coming months, Maps app users will be able to compare car, biking, public transit and other travel options in one place instead of toggling between different sections.
*ABC is a statutory authority constituted and operating under the provisions of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.
This article first appeared at abc.net.au.