Photo: autoevolution
Google Maps is right now the world’s number one navigation app on all platforms, and the Mountain View-based parent company has tried to make it just the right choice when it comes to getting essential information for specific locations, including how busy a certain region currently is.
Google Maps has thus become part of our arsenal during these crazy times, so many people now use the app not only to get directions to a specific destination but also to search for the busyness level for a place they want to go to.
And new numbers shared by Google for Ottawa confirm the traffic trends that pretty much everybody expected in the first eight months of the year.
Public transit searches dropped no less than 52 percent year over year, and the reason is as simple as it could be: most people are looking for alternative means of transportation that would allow them to stay at a safe distance from others.
So this change of trends caused a spike in walking directions of no less than 23 percent, according to a report, and more and more users have turned to bicycles too. Google claims it recorded a 41 percent increase in the number of searches for cycling routes versus the same period a year ago.
It’s probably no surprise, but quite a lot of users searched for locations where they could spend some time outdoors, such as parks, with Google saying the increase here reached 83 percent in May alone.
Needless to say, while these numbers only concern Ottawa, similar trends are most likely happening everywhere around the globe, as most people gave up on public transportation and embraced cycling or walking for obvious reasons.
The good news is that Google keeps working on new Google Maps capabilities, and earlier this week, the company announced the service now displays more information on the global health crisis, including the number of confirmed cases and deaths for every country, along with links to local official information.
And new numbers shared by Google for Ottawa confirm the traffic trends that pretty much everybody expected in the first eight months of the year.
Public transit searches dropped no less than 52 percent year over year, and the reason is as simple as it could be: most people are looking for alternative means of transportation that would allow them to stay at a safe distance from others.
So this change of trends caused a spike in walking directions of no less than 23 percent, according to a report, and more and more users have turned to bicycles too. Google claims it recorded a 41 percent increase in the number of searches for cycling routes versus the same period a year ago.
It’s probably no surprise, but quite a lot of users searched for locations where they could spend some time outdoors, such as parks, with Google saying the increase here reached 83 percent in May alone.
Needless to say, while these numbers only concern Ottawa, similar trends are most likely happening everywhere around the globe, as most people gave up on public transportation and embraced cycling or walking for obvious reasons.
The good news is that Google keeps working on new Google Maps capabilities, and earlier this week, the company announced the service now displays more information on the global health crisis, including the number of confirmed cases and deaths for every country, along with links to local official information.
Google News