Google Maps has announced this week its new ‘green’ project that will try to reduce polluting emissions on the road and that will also help us save on fuel.
The company has announced that the initiative, which has already been launched in the United States, will arrive in Europe from 2022. Its objective is to reduce pollution in cities, so it will stop recommending the fastest route as it did until now and you will go on to prioritize the most efficient path.
According to Google, the project will prevent more than a million tons of carbon emissions each year, which is equivalent to eliminating 200,000 vehicles from the road.
Fuel savings
The application will study the orography of the terrain, traffic, traffic lights, the type of vehicle or fuel consumption, among others. In other words, apart from contributing to the climate crisis, it will also allow you to save on fuel consumption.
But that does not mean that it will take longer to reach the sites, since the user will be able to continue choosing between the ‘shorter route’ or ‘faster route’ options, as well as the usual options that were available until now.
Now @GoogleMaps will help you make more sustainable choices when getting from A to B with new eco-friendly routes, expanded bike- and scooter-share options and lite navigation for biking (coming soon). See what’s new → https://t.co/O8ON744N1J #GoogleSustainability pic.twitter.com/OslBJl5nz3
— Google (@Google) October 6, 2021
However, it is a minimal change, and from Google Maps they assure that the driver will hardly appreciate it. As an example, if the usual route takes 30 minutes, but there is a more efficient route that takes 32 minutes, the application will choose the latter by default; the difference: two minutes.
Google Flights joins the initiative
The Google service that searches and reserves flights online has also opted for reducing emissions. Google Flights will provide users with information on the emission of pollutants per seat, that is, it will allow them to choose between different flights based on their emissions.
This tool is already available worldwide from this Wednesday and shows the company’s commitment to the environment.